Painting the house exterior can be a challenging task, but a set of simple steps can make it easier. Painted houses start to wear off after a while, possibly in a few years of time. A regular paint job on your exterior can extend and preserve your home’s vividness.
You can hire a professional painting service to do the job at an affordable cost, or you can save money by doing the paintwork yourself, whichever can give you the desired paint solution. Below are ten steps to paint your house exterior easily.
Step 01: Power Wash Exterior Walls
The first thing you should do before the painting starts is, wash your exterior walls. As time goes on, old exterior walls tend to collect dust and debris that may not be seen but have their effect on a new painting. Fresh paint won’t adhere to a dirty surface, so it is important to give your walls a power wash (possibly with a forceful hose pipe) to give the new paint a clean surface.
You can use a mixture of water and phosphate-free cleaner to wash the outer walls.
Step 02: Remove Lead Paint
A toxic substance like lead can affect people of any age, especially children and pregnant women. This is why painters recommend the removal of lead paint whenever you’re remodeling or painting your house.
First of all, perform tests for the existence of lead paint with test kits available in the market. Remove any lead-based paint that exists in your exterior house walls and trim. You can take a good lead paint removal solution, and use it with a blunt-edged scraper like a knife to get the lead out. If you can’t get the leadoff yourself, call for professional lead paint removal experts.
Step 03: Repair Damaged Area
Repairing the damaged areas of the exterior will help the paint be more adhesive. Carefully look around to find any existing damage like scratches, broken part of the surface, chips and flaking parts, metal parts, and others. Repair the damaged areas as much as possible, and take professional help if necessary.
Step 04: Scratch off Loose Paint
Once the exterior is dry after the power wash, scratch off any loose paint from the previous paint job. Loose paint can easily be seen if examined carefully, or you can tap randomly to hear any hollow sound. Use a simple scraper to remove any scarping paint from the exterior carefully. If loose paint remains, your new paint job won’t stick over it and eventually will come off.
Step 05: Sand the Rough Painting Areas
Sanding is important after you’ve repaired the surface and scraped off the remaining loose paint. There may be uneven and rough spots left on the exterior that will decline a smooth paint job. The paint lays flat according to the surface it’s on, so rough edges will fade the purpose of a new paint job.
Use sandpaper to even out the rugged spots on the whole surface to create a seamless exterior for painting.
Step 06: Caulk and Fill Joints
Caulking is important for filling out any remaining damages on the exterior. While it does give the paint job a smooth finishing, caulking also covers joints in windows, trim and other places. Use siliconized caulk to smooth out any cracks to fix the outer area. It will give you the chance to level the paint coating once you start painting.
Step 07: Apply Masking Tape
After completing all of the steps above, you are almost ready to paint your exterior house. Before that, you should cover the non-painting areas with painter’s masking tape or any kind of sticky cover. Windows, doors, lights, roof edges, or other places you don’t want to paint on, cover them up temporarily. Painters also use adhesive tape to secure the desired places while painting the exterior.
Step 08: Carefully Choose Exterior Color
It is one of the most important steps for painting your exterior. If you have a selection of colors to choose from, choose a color that is adhered to the neighborhood and appealing to the eyes. You can contrast the color of the exterior walls with the trim and the doors. Also, try to pick warm and light colors for a better appearance.
You can either choose from latex-based paint or oil-based paint. Pick a paint that is:
- Easily applicable.
- Gets dry quickly.
- Can be cleaned without ruining.
Step 09: Paint the House Exterior | Top to Bottom
The basic rule of painting is, you work your way from top to bottom. The benefit of this method? Paint drips will not ruin your work because you’re working in the same direction. Smoothly move your painting tool in a controlled manner from top to bottom. You can use a sprayer, a roller, or a brush to perform the paint job. Either one works fine if applied properly.
Steadily finish painting the exterior with one to two coats of paint. Start from the gutter, and the walls come following next. Choose a warm and clear day for your exterior house painting, and never start painting on a gloomy or rainy day.
Step 10: Maintenance of Paintwork
You can maintain regular inspection and repair your exterior painting to get a long term result of your paint job. Check for growing mold or fungus once in a while, wash off stains of any kind. Try to repair the caulk every year and replace the possible cracked parts.
Wrapping up
Depending on the work, quality of the paint, and weather; a good paint job can last for about 10 years through good maintenance. We have shared a step by step guide on how to paint your house exterior so that your desired solution can come easy.
