Three Exterior Painting Mistakes To Avoid

22 April 2017
 Categories: , Blog


A new paint job is a quick way to give your home a facelift. For those with wood siding, it can also help prolong the life of your siding, which will save you money on property maintenance. Although the process seems relatively straight forward, there are some major mistakes you don't want to make. The following will help you avoid these.

#1: Foregoing proper surface prep

While there is no need to remove all of the old paint, you will still need to invest some time into preparing the surface. First and foremost, clean the home's exterior. A power washer can be use with care, or you can simply scrub the walls with a deck brush and hot soapy water. If the paint is rough or bubbling, then use a paint scraper to remove it. Finally, finish with a sand. Slightly roughening the surface helps the paint adhere to the wood so that it will be less likely to peel in the future.

#2: Ignoring minor damage

Sometimes you may uncover minor damage when preparing the exterior of your home for paint. Holes, crumbling caulk, and soft wood are the most common issues. Fill holes with a wood filler and then sand it flush to the siding. For caulk, scrape out the old caulk and apply a bead of fresh caulking. Soft wood is more problematic, since this indicates rot. You will need to remove the rotten panel and replace it with a new panel. Painting is a good time to do this since the replacement won't be obvious once everything is covered in a fresh coat of paint.

#3: Skipping the final coat

Although some exterior paints are sold as an all-in-one product, overall you will need to apply at least two coats of paint. All-in-one only refers to the color. In other words, one coat will be enough to provide the final color coverage. A second coat isn't just for color, but to ensure the paint doesn't wear thin too quickly. You should also avoid "primer-included" paints for exterior purposes. Used a separate primer, before painting, provided further weather-proofing for your wood siding. Make sure each coat of primer or paint dries completely before applying the next, as well. Not only does it protect your wood better to do this right, the paint lasts longer so you won't be revisiting this job again soon.

For more help, contact a residential painting service in your area.


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