2 Things To Make Sure You Do Before Painting The Exterior Of Your Home
A fresh coat of paint on the exterior of your house can help your home look more attractive to you, your neighbors and visitors. Not only can fresh paint look good, but it might contribute to a higher selling price if you ever decide to sell your house. If you're tackling the paint job yourself, it can be easy to make some mistakes along the way. Here are some things to keep in mind before you start painting so that the paint can adhere properly and look good.
Get the Right Paint
Before purchasing paint for your project, you must consider the existing paint on the house. If the house is already covered in latex paint, it's a good idea to use latex paint. If your house already has oil-based paint on it, use oil. If you fail to use the proper paint, you may have to deal with a lot of peeling and may need to paint all over again.
How do you know what kind of paint is already on your house? Use nail polish remover, a solution that contains acetone, to saturate a cotton ball. Then rub a small part of the surface of your home. If you see paint come off onto the cotton ball, the existing paint is latex. If there is no paint on the cotton ball, the paint is oil-based. Keep in mind that windows, doors and siding may all have different kinds of paint on them, so do this test on all these surfaces to know what kind of paint you need to use on each part of the house.
Wash the House
In your enthusiasm to get started, you may not think it's necessary to do anything before painting the house. However, painting on top of dirt and grime might result in flaking, cracking and other problems.
To clean the house, use a commercial cleaning solution and car-cleaning brushes or other stiff-bristled brushes. If you have a long brush that allows you to attach a broom handle, that can be a good choice. Wet the siding of your house with a garden hose, apply some cleaning solution to the house and start brushing. Rinse dirt and cleaning solution off your house with the hose.
For a more thorough job that isn't so taxing on your arms, you may wish to rent a pressure washer. When you're done cleaning the house, give it a few days to dry out completely before starting to paint.
Use the information above to prepare your house before painting the exterior of your home. If you need assistance, you can go to sites online to get in touch with an exterior painter who can help you prepare and paint your home.