How To Prepare Your House Exterior For Painting The Best Way

Help The Paint Stay On The Walls Better And Protect Your Plants By Following These Steps

Help your paint to last longer and look better by learning how to prepare a house exterior for painting. You can do it in 8 steps and then start painting.

Find the steps below-

Preparation is KEY

“10 minutes of planning saves 1 hour of work,” Paul points out.

Mary strikes what she thinks is a philosophical pose. “And proper preparation makes for a better project. Speaking of which, how do we prepare a house exterior for painting?”

Paul laughs. “I’m not too sure. I don’t want to guess and miss something so let’s look it up on Google.”

Mary walks over to where Paul is as he pulls out his phone. She stands next to him and watches as he looks it up on Google. She remembers they did this when they were looking for the best exterior paint.

Here is what they find-

8 Steps For Preparing Your House Exterior For Painting

Get your tools and materials
Choose the right time
Clean the house exterior
Scrape off any loose paint
Make any repairs
Re-caulk as needed
Put down drop cloths on plants
Prime your house exterior

Father and daughter painting stucco walls

“They all make sense, but some of them need a little more explaining. Like, what is the right time for painting?” Paul scrolls down to see what he can find out.

What Everyone Needs To Know About These Steps

The best time to paint is when the temperature is between 50 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Partly cloudy days are best because the paint won’t dry too quickly. Watch out for rain!

“That makes a lot of sense. I’m glad they explained it because I didn’t know what to choose besides non-rainy days,” Paul admits.

Preparing a house exterior for painting also involves cleaning. Using a pressure washer with TSP (trisodium phosphate) is recommended. Paint doesn’t stick to dirty surfaces. It peels more quickly and looks worse.

“And it’s the same thing with peeling paint. Gotta scrape it off so the new paint can stick better,” Mary reads.

Here’s how to paint your stucco home >>

Painting over damaged areas isn’t a good idea either. They become easier to see and also can lead to worse problems in the future. This includes caulking.

“And then everything else makes sense. Drop cloths protect the plants and priming helps the paint to stick even better. This is especially true for repaired areas,” Paul finishes.

Now What?

“Now we either look up the cost of exterior painting and hire someone or we learn how to do it ourselves.” Looks like the couple still has a few decisions to make before painting their house exterior.