How to Paint Your Home: Perfect Painting & Remodeling
Painting the exterior and interior is one of the best ways to remodel your home. Aside from giving your home a new look, paint can actually help with protecting your investment from different forces of nature, such as the wind, the rain, or the heat of the sun.
This article is written for both the DIYers and for those who prefer to hire the services of professionals. In this helpful article, you will find that each step will be thoroughly explained, so even those without prior experience will be able to accomplish the task successfully.
However, if you are the type of person who would rather pay someone to do the residential painting job for you, then you should definitely consider calling Perfect Painting & Remodeling immediately. Once you have successfully scheduled an appointment, everything will be taken care of from there.
STEP 1: Cleaning the Walls
Before actually painting, you have to first make sure that dirt and other paint residues are eliminated from the surfaces you will be painting. The reason why this is an important step is because the fresh paint won’t be applied properly and won’t look good if these residues and dirt are present.
You can make use of a hose and a scrub brush to effectively clean the surface. Contractors like Perfect Painting & Remodeling use pressure washers instead of a water hose because it is much faster to clean with this equipment. (Note: Do not use pressure washers if you don’t know how to operate them, because they can cause a lot of damage to your home.)
Aside from washing the walls with plain water, you can also wash it with a mixture of water and small amounts of chlorine bleach and phosphate-free cleaner. The technique in making streak-free scrubs is to work on a small portion of the wall, scrubbing from bottom to top.
STEP 2: Scrape the Old Layers
If you have noticed that there are already bubbles or blisters that formed on the surface of the old paint, you need to scrape the old layers off. You can make use of power grinders or sanders if you know how to operate them. Just make sure that you use a dust mask because the dust could cause respiratory problems or irritation when inhaled.
If you are not familiar with using power grinders or sanders, you can also scrape the paint by hand using a wide putty knife. To make it easier and faster for you to scrape the paint using this method, you can also use a heating gun so the paint will be softer.
When you hire the services of professionals, such as Perfect Painting & Remodeling, they will surely be able to remove the old paint in no time. So if you think this is a grueling task, you can just contact Perfect Painting & Remodeling to do the whole painting job for you.
STEP 3: Repairing Cracks and Dents
After the scraping and sanding of old layers of paint, you might need to repair the cracks or dents before applying the new paint. Making use of epoxies to fill in these cracks and dents can easily do the trick. If you choose to use the services of professionals to do the work for you, you don’t have to worry about this because most contractors like Perfect Painting & Remodeling know exactly what to do.
STEP 4: Application of Primers
Primers are applied to the surface for better and easier application of the top layers of paint. Paint will stick better if the surface is coated with a primer. Professional house painters such as those employed at Perfect Painting & Remodeling make use of acrylic primers or sometimes oil-based coatings if the wall is made of wood. Additionally, they also use metal primers on exposed nailheads.
STEP 5: Caulking
Once the primer that you applied is already dry, the next thing you should do is to caulk in the siding and trim. The most recommended caulks to apply are siliconized acrylics and urethane acrylics. Although the latter type is more expensive than siliconized acrylics, professionals assert that they last longer and are more flexible. If you seek the assistance of professional painters, they will know exactly what is appropriate for your home.
STEP 6: Paint!
Before painting, consider the weather, because rain can obviously wash off the paint. Decide on the color and then apply it evenly using a brush or a roller. Professional painters make use of sprayers because it is much faster. However, if you are a beginner, this is not advisable because you may not coat the surface evenly. Lastly, it is recommended that you start painting from top to bottom.
