Exterior Paint Colors
Painting the inside of a home can be a fun experience. You can even take your time as you go. But, painting the outside of a home can take some serious skills, knowledge and experience. If you are planning on taking down the old siding and painting your house or repainting it a new color, there might be a few things you aren’t even aware of in terms of painting. This isn’t just a slap some paint on the wall project. If you want to do the best job you can do when it comes to painting your home, take a look at some of the tips below. On the other hand, you could just skip all of this, and hire an exterior painter in Bel Air!
Take Precautions with Lead Paint
When you paint your home by yourself, you don’t need to follow the same regulations as a professional painter does. In some cases this is fair, and in some cases it’s not. One thing to remember is that lead paint does still exist. For instance, if your home was built before 1978, your home might have lead paint on it. In order to protect yourself and those around you, it’s important that you test for lead particles. You can find different lead testing kits online or in stores like Home Depot. If the test comes back positive you will need to keep the paint dust to a minimum. If not, well, then you have nothing to worry about. If you do have lead paint, make sure you lay down a drop cloth to catch any scrapings of paint. Get yourself a mask, a Tyvek suit and gloves. Make sure you also clean and clear the area with a HEPA vacuum and dispose of the materials in an approved hazardous material location. If this all seems like too much for you, you can also hire an exterior painter who will do all of this work for you.
Wash and Clean the Exterior Walls
Believe it or not, but mildew loves fresh paint. Mildew, dirt and dust on your walls will also make it really hard for the paint to stick to the walls. So before you do any type of painting it’s a good idea to wash the walls and anything else you will be painting. You can do this with simple soapy water and bucket combo, or you can hire someone to do it for you. If a professional does it for you, they will probably be using a pressure washer. But, it’s not always good for an amateur to do it this way because if you don’t know what you are doing, you can end up pushing water under the boards and this can result in water damage, leaking inside the house, or mildew problems later on.
Scrape Off Loose Paint
Make sure that once you complete the step above, you allow the walls and clapboards to dry. Once they dry you can begin this step of removing any loose paint. This can be done using a handheld scraper, but you can also use a hot air gun or paint stripper, if you have one. Remember to never use any kind of a flame near the walls or clapboards because this can and probably will cause a fire. In fact, I just saw this on the news the other day - some guy was trying to remove paint from his house and used a blow torch. Let’s just say his house and the houses on opposing ends are now burned down. Fire is never a good idea to remove paint! If you are working with lead paint, always wear a mask, Tyvek suit and gloves while doing this project step.
Sanding Rough Spots
Once you are done removing any loose paint from the house, you will need to then sand any rough spots on the house. You can use a hand sander, pad sander, or an electric sander. Just be sure not to press down too hard or you will make marks, dents or holes in the walls, clapboards, wood, etc. When doing this step, make sure you use only 80 grit sandpaper. This will remove all of the roughness and make it nice and smooth, without really cutting into the surface too much.
Filling and Repairing
After you finish washing, scraping, and sanding, you will then see that you have a lot of different holes, dents, chips, dings, etc. These minor holes will need to be filled with compound putty. If you have a really bad problem with something like wood rot, you will need to fix this problem before moving on and replace the bad wood. If possible, try to figure out why you have any wood rot, and fix these problems as well to keep them from happening again in the future.
Applying the Primer
Once you prepare the wood or the walls by doing the steps above, you should put the primer on after you are done - almost immediately after you are done. If you are painting over a bare wall or wood, regular latex primer is okay to use. But, if you are painting over multiple coats of primer and paint, you are going to want to use an oil based primer because these stick better to the pre-existing wall and allow the new paint to stick better to the new priming solution. There are all sorts of primer; white, gray, even tinted primer.
The Right Paint for the Job
Not all paints are the same! If you are trying to choose water based acrylic latex over oil based paints, remember that there are many benefits to latex paint. First off, they apply easily to your surface. Secondly, they also dry quickly, which is going to be important for outdoor painting. They also clean up very easily for those just in case accidents. On the other hand, if your house already has oil based paint on it, stick with the oil base and vice versa. Choose your finishes very carefully. It’s a basic rule that the higher the sheen on the paint, the better it is at blocking UV rays. Satin is okay for things like shingles, but you want to use high gloss paint for high-use areas like porches, doorframes, windows, etc. Usually a gallon of premium exterior latex costs about $35.
Take Precautions with Lead Paint
When you paint your home by yourself, you don’t need to follow the same regulations as a professional painter does. In some cases this is fair, and in some cases it’s not. One thing to remember is that lead paint does still exist. For instance, if your home was built before 1978, your home might have lead paint on it. In order to protect yourself and those around you, it’s important that you test for lead particles. You can find different lead testing kits online or in stores like Home Depot. If the test comes back positive you will need to keep the paint dust to a minimum. If not, well, then you have nothing to worry about. If you do have lead paint, make sure you lay down a drop cloth to catch any scrapings of paint. Get yourself a mask, a Tyvek suit and gloves. Make sure you also clean and clear the area with a HEPA vacuum and dispose of the materials in an approved hazardous material location. If this all seems like too much for you, you can also hire an exterior painter who will do all of this work for you.
Wash and Clean the Exterior Walls
Believe it or not, but mildew loves fresh paint. Mildew, dirt and dust on your walls will also make it really hard for the paint to stick to the walls. So before you do any type of painting it’s a good idea to wash the walls and anything else you will be painting. You can do this with simple soapy water and bucket combo, or you can hire someone to do it for you. If a professional does it for you, they will probably be using a pressure washer. But, it’s not always good for an amateur to do it this way because if you don’t know what you are doing, you can end up pushing water under the boards and this can result in water damage, leaking inside the house, or mildew problems later on.
Scrape Off Loose Paint
Make sure that once you complete the step above, you allow the walls and clapboards to dry. Once they dry you can begin this step of removing any loose paint. This can be done using a handheld scraper, but you can also use a hot air gun or paint stripper, if you have one. Remember to never use any kind of a flame near the walls or clapboards because this can and probably will cause a fire. In fact, I just saw this on the news the other day - some guy was trying to remove paint from his house and used a blow torch. Let’s just say his house and the houses on opposing ends are now burned down. Fire is never a good idea to remove paint! If you are working with lead paint, always wear a mask, Tyvek suit and gloves while doing this project step.
Sanding Rough Spots
Once you are done removing any loose paint from the house, you will need to then sand any rough spots on the house. You can use a hand sander, pad sander, or an electric sander. Just be sure not to press down too hard or you will make marks, dents or holes in the walls, clapboards, wood, etc. When doing this step, make sure you use only 80 grit sandpaper. This will remove all of the roughness and make it nice and smooth, without really cutting into the surface too much.
Filling and Repairing
After you finish washing, scraping, and sanding, you will then see that you have a lot of different holes, dents, chips, dings, etc. These minor holes will need to be filled with compound putty. If you have a really bad problem with something like wood rot, you will need to fix this problem before moving on and replace the bad wood. If possible, try to figure out why you have any wood rot, and fix these problems as well to keep them from happening again in the future.
Applying the Primer
Once you prepare the wood or the walls by doing the steps above, you should put the primer on after you are done - almost immediately after you are done. If you are painting over a bare wall or wood, regular latex primer is okay to use. But, if you are painting over multiple coats of primer and paint, you are going to want to use an oil based primer because these stick better to the pre-existing wall and allow the new paint to stick better to the new priming solution. There are all sorts of primer; white, gray, even tinted primer.
The Right Paint for the Job
Not all paints are the same! If you are trying to choose water based acrylic latex over oil based paints, remember that there are many benefits to latex paint. First off, they apply easily to your surface. Secondly, they also dry quickly, which is going to be important for outdoor painting. They also clean up very easily for those just in case accidents. On the other hand, if your house already has oil based paint on it, stick with the oil base and vice versa. Choose your finishes very carefully. It’s a basic rule that the higher the sheen on the paint, the better it is at blocking UV rays. Satin is okay for things like shingles, but you want to use high gloss paint for high-use areas like porches, doorframes, windows, etc. Usually a gallon of premium exterior latex costs about $35.