To be frank, exterior painting isn’t a particularly easy job at the best of times. Even when armed with all the latest gear and plenty of manpower, coming up with a flawless result is always a challenge.
On the flipside of the coin, there’s also nothing more satisfying than walking away from a job well done. You admire your handiwork and all the time and effort invested immediately become worthwhile. It’s just a case of ensuring you do whatever’s necessary to produce a perfect result in the first place.
Having been in business for some time, we’ve come to note a fair few patterns along the way. Specifically, some of the habits (good and bad) that perpetuate among painting DIYs at home. Exterior painting is never easy, but there are various ways you can make the job even more difficult than it has to be.
So with this in mind, what follows is a roundup of a few simple tips on how to avoid unnecessarily complicating the job, if you decide to tackle it yourself:
Inspect The Surface Thoroughly
First up, the biggest mistake you can make is attempting to dive straight into the painting process too quickly. Before even going near a can of paint, you need to inspect the exterior surfaces of your home quite meticulously. If you come across any flaking or peeling paint, you need to scrape it away and get busy with some sandpaper. If there’s any bare wood that’s seen better days, it may need to be repaired or prepped more intensively. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll get away with painting over imperfections – you won’t!
Take The Time To Prime
We say this because apparently, it’s quite common to haphazardly apply primer in a hurried manner to get things done as quickly as possible. If you’ve learned anything from our blog…which you should have…it’s that priming is just as important as painting. If not, slightly more so. You should approach the priming process with as much time and effort as you would the painting itself. Failing to prime properly will always set you up for a tricky painting process and an imperfect result.
Watch For Excess Moisture
If you come across any particularly moist surfaces when inspecting and priming your exteriors, you need to study them carefully. Try to evaluate where the moisture is coming from – internally or externally. If it’s simply residual moisture left behind in the wake of wet weather, you’ll need to give it plenty of time to dry thoroughly. If you suspect there may be a leak of some kind hiding beneath the surface, don’t ignore it. Moisture of all kinds is the biggest enemy of the painter, the decorator and the home improver in general.
Paint Slowly And Evenly
By the time you get to the actual painting part of the process, you’ll probably be in a hurry to get things done. Nevertheless, it’s wise not to fall into the trap of trying to rush things at this stage. Instead, ensure you apply each coat of paint as thinly, gradually and slowly as necessary to create an even finish. The more you attempt to smother on the surface at any given time, the more likely it is to drip, run and generally compromise the quality of the result.
Keep An Eye On The Weather
Particularly when painting a property’s exterior with latex paint, it’s important to keep an eye on the weather. If it’s too cold, the paint isn’t going to cure properly and will end up looking uneven. If it’s too hot, the durability of the paint in general will suffer. And for obvious reasons, you don’t want to go near an exterior painting job if there’s any chance it’s going to rain within the next 24 hours or so at least.
Use Quality Tools And Provisions
Last but not least, one of the easiest ways of making a home painting job more difficult than it needs to be is to use the cheapest tools, paints and general provisions you can find. It may be tempting to cut corners to reduce costs, but you’ll soon regret doing so. From brushes to rollers to ladders, primers to paints and everything else across the board, quality equipment makes the whole thing so much easier. Not to mention, helps ensure an excellent result that goes the distance.
For more information on exterior painting or to discuss our services in more detail, contact a member of the team at Homm CPS today.