When it comes to painting the exterior of your home, much of the result depends on how you prepare the surface before the first brushstrokes of paint are applied. When you hire professional paint contractors to handle your exterior painting jobs, it’s important to make sure that the surface preparation is part of the quoted labor. Without adequate paint prep, even the best painting company in Canton, GA, can’t guarantee that the results of your painting job will be beautiful and long-lasting.
Painting prep for the exterior of your home goes well beyond simple scraping, as there are many other vital tasks that must be fulfilled to ensure you’re satisfied with the resulting paint job. Though preparation is important prior to every painting project, it’s even more important when your home’s exterior is involved. The exterior surfaces of your home take a beating from the elements, as unrelenting UV light, heavy rain, and other environmental factors can wreak havoc. However, with the right preparation, you’ll be enjoying a beautiful, resilient home exterior for years to come. Keep reading to learn more about the steps involved in preparation before exterior painting begins.
Washing
Pressure washers make the task of cleaning your home’s exterior much simpler than in times past. Whereas you once had to scrub with a brush and cleaning solution, the pressure wash takes much of the intensive labor out of the equation. Using the pressure washer will scour the surface of dirt, dust, algae, and mold. That will allow the subsequent new coats of paint to adhere to the exterior surface in a more uniform manner, and the coats of paint will be more durable and resilient as a result. Also, a pressure washer can help knock off any flaking paint chips without a need for a scraper.
Scraping
As paint ages and the hardening resins in the old coats of paint begin to fail, the paint will start to chip, crack, and peel. That rough, unstable surface isn’t a good substrate for new applications of paint, so the old paint needs to be removed in some way. As previously mentioned, a good pressure washing will knock off the loosest bits of old paint. However, paint prep may still involve using a scraper to do the dirty work of manually removing those paint chips. The scraping period will also give your home a chance to dry after the washing process since your home’s exterior needs to be dry for about 24 hours before any new paint is applied.
Repairs
After the scraping phase comes the time to make any needed repairs before the painting begins. If you have compromised wood on the soffits or eaves, for example, it only makes sense to make those repairs before the painting starts. If any wood surfaces appeared even slightly compromised or rotten, now is the time to fix those trouble spots to save time and effort in the future.
Sanding and Caulking
Once old paint has been removed and repairs have been made, it’s time to look for any gaps at exterior joints, holes caused by nails, or other aberrations in the surface. Caulk can help ensure that your home’s exterior is watertight and sealed to protect it from the elements. When the caulking is done, sanding can be used to create a smooth surface that’s ready to be primed and painted. If there are rough areas that need to be smoothed out after the loose paint is scraped away, use a sander or sanding block to make the surface as smooth as possible.
Priming
The final step before beginning to apply the paint of your choice is to apply a coat of primer to the exterior surface. Primer helps the paint adhere to the surface, but it also helps provide an invisible base layer that ensures the coats of paint will go only smoothly, and the color will be true to the shade you selected. While priming may seem like an extra step, it’s critical outdoors, and it can save you money as well since primed surfaces will require fewer coats of paint to get the desired coverage.
The best exterior painting services in Canton, GA, will offer a full range of pre-painting surface preparations before applying the first coat. Proper prep will ensure that you’ll be pleased with the resulting paint application and that you will remain happy with it for years to come. To learn more about the 5 steps of painting prep, contact Fillo Painting at (770) 769-7941.