Painting the Exterior During House Painting in Livermore
Your home is one of the most important investments you’ve made, so naturally, you want to take care of that investment. One of the ways you can use to maintain the look and integrity of your abode is by doing house painting in Livermore, CA.
Let’s start with the exterior of the house. It’s the first thing your neighbor and guests see before entering the house. So, it’s essential to keep the exterior at its best by as simple as cleaning, repairing, and repainting it. You don’t have to replace the wood siding unless there’s a reason to do so, e.g., when it has begun to warp or rot.
Painting the exterior is never easy. Who says it is? But by having quality paints, using the right tools, and following procedures, you will achieve the results you want, and your home will look new again.
Step 1: Wash and clean your home
To start preparing your home’s exterior surfaces for painting, you’ll need to clean them. Your house has probably accumulated years (or decades) of soot and dust. Try wiping a clean, white cloth across the side of your home, and you will see the soot and dust build-up.
You can manually clean and brush the surfaces by hand. As an alternative, you can wash down your home by using a garden hose with a nozzle. First, clean the surfaces with a soapy solution, then hose them down to rinse the surfaces thoroughly.
If you want a quicker and more effective wood siding cleaning, you may have to power-wash it. You can buy a power washer or (better) rent one. It will ensure the removal of dust and soot build-up, leaving your house thoroughly clean. Work your way from the top and go to the bottom of the house smoothly and controlled, overlapping each stroke by about eight inches.
But using a power washer can be dangerous – it can even cause serious injuries – especially if you don’t know how to use it. Thus, it is best to have a professional power-wash the exterior of your house.
After cleaning, washing, and rinsing the siding, allow it to dry completely. As you wait for the siding to dry, you may want to place drop cloths along the ground.
Step 2: Fix damaged surfaces
Walk around your home’s exterior to inspect it for damage. Apply epoxy filler to fill cracks or holes using a putty knife. Let the epoxy filler dry. Once dried, lightly sand the excess using a medium-grit sanding block.
If you see loose, peeling old paint, remove it using a paint scraper or medium-grit sanding block.
Step 3: Caulk any gaps
Use a caulk gun and exterior caulk to fill any gaps between the house and trim around doors and windows. Leave the caulk to dry. If your home has mixed materials, such as brick and wood siding, apply caulk along the surface where different materials meet.
Step 4: Protect doors and windows
Cover doors and windows using painter’s tape or plastic sheeting.
Step 5: Prime (only when needed)
You don’t have to prime before every painting project in Livermore, CA. In this case, you’re only repainting the siding, so there’s no need to apply primer.
You don’t even have to prime the entire house. Only problem areas, new and bare wood, wood fillers, rust-stained areas, and previously unprimed and unpainted areas require a primer.
A primer is a light-colored (usually white or light gray) substance to prepare the surface for painting. It tends to show through the topcoat. Unless you’re going to apply neutral colors, you may need to use another coat of paint to hide the lighter-colored primer sufficiently.
Leave the primer to dry before proceeding to the next step.
Step 6: Paint the exterior
Load flat or eggshell exterior paint using a paintbrush, roller, or paint sprayer. You may have to apply one or two coats of paint depending on the thickness of the paint or the intensity of the hue. Work your way from top to bottom – if using a paint sprayer, do so in a smooth and controlled manner.
If you use a paintbrush or roller, there’s a chance that you’d end up with ugly lap marks. To prevent them from appearing, keep a “wet edge” by applying paint a short distance away from the section you’ve just painted or brushing or rolling back into that still-wet section.
Step 6: Roll-paint flat surfaces
You may not need this step. A paint roller allows you to cover large and flat surfaces faster than a paintbrush. However, typical wood siding doesn’t usually give itself to rolling. For instance, shiplap siding is difficult to apply paint on if you use a roller unless the width of every section is good enough to allow paint rolling.
If your house has flat siding or even some flat sections, use a paint roller and an extension pole to cover these sections thoroughly and quickly. Rolling is also a preferable painting technique for stucco and brick.
Step 7: Paint trim around doors and windows
Remove painter’s tape or plastic sheeting from doors and windows. Apply two coats of exterior paint – either semi-gloss or glossy – on trims around doors and windows. Remove drop cloths.
Are you thinking of doing some exterior house painting in Livermore, CA and needing a professional residential painter? Call Custom Painting, Inc. at (925) 294-8062 for a free estimate.