How to Prep a House for Exterior Painting?

When was the last time you painted your house? Don’t you feel like making the exteriors seem like that of a magazine cover? Well, we all do! The surface preparation of the house exterior is a requirement from the standpoint of both health and safety reasons. You must be cautious when choosing the new paint carefully. Well, you may not know exactly how to prep a house for exterior painting, but there are a few basic and practical steps that you can get started with to help your home exterior turn into a flawless paint project at the earliest.

Why You Should Know How to Prep a House for Exterior Painting?

At the heart of knowing how to prep a house for exterior painting, you must note that the major share of the job is done much before the brush is even put on the building! In other words, if you end up painting an exterior surface that is dilapidated or in a poor condition, it will eventually lead you nowhere. On the other hand, high-quality pre-paint work generates handsome dividends. So, ensure you know how to prepare the exterior walls for painting, before diving into the job.

What Steps Must be Taken to Know Exterior Painting?

Here’s taking you through the titbits of how to prep the exterior for painting. For an added idea, you can always consult an expert on how to prep the exterior for painting, which includes sitting through the discussions, comparing rates, and obtaining the best one.

Plan the project during proper weather conditions

If you plan your painting project on weekends, exterior painting needs at least three weekends of proper weather. You can keep a buffer if any situation of an unpredicted hail storm, rain, or humidity comes over. Also, if you paint during inclement weather, the uncured paint coat might blister. If your house has more than one story, get hold of a ladder that offers good support.

Clean the area thoroughly

Keep certain items away from the house, like grills, furniture, trash bins, patio furniture, and the like. Tape and cover the outlet boxes and the fixtures, using the painters’ tape and dry cloths. You can trim the trees and shrubs and then cover the land using a drop cloth. 

Wash the exterior of the house

The more you wash the outside of the house, the more the paint will adhere to the surface. You can use a pressure washer, or using a gentle scrub brush, or a cleaning solution, if it doesn’t peel or flake much. In case of mildew, you can use only one part of chlorine bleach, mixed with three parts of water or mildewcide, for exterior painting. Simply work in sections and then rinse properly. 

Test for the lead and scrape off the paint

Any paint that contains a good amount of lead is likely to cause sufficient damage to the health of family members, neighbors, and pets. Though most parts these days are safe to use, still you can purchase a lead testing kit online. Alternatively, you can carry paint chip samples to any testing lab. If your paint doesn’t have lead, then a mask will be more than enough. So that you prevent any siding damage, try and scrape off the paint in the very direction of the wood grain.

Go for sanding

sanding is imperative to build a mechanical bond between successive paint coats. The good thing with non-bumpy or non-lumpy paints is that you can smoothen the surface using 80-grit sandpaper. You can try speeding up the task via an orbit sander. The 100 or 120-grit paper is perfect for removing scratches, while the medium-grit ones are great for weathered wood. If you wish to know how to prepare exterior walls for painting, then it must be said that there are differences between the doors. You can try the fine-grit sandpapers.

Bottom-line

There is no harm if you do not know how to prep exterior trim for painting. Most people are not aware of how to prep a house for exterior painting. Now that hordes of companies and experts lie at your disposal, learning how to get started will take minutes.