How to Prepare Your Home for Professional Exterior Painting
Whether you’re building a new home and choosing your dream colour design or you’re giving an existing home a refresh, a fresh coat of paint can reinvigorate or inspire. But it’s not just about the colour, is it? Let’s explore some things we need to consider before we paint the exterior of a Brisbane home.
Surface cleaning, sanding & repairs
While you don’t necessarily have to worry about the prep work as our team at Wes Hull Painters would do this all for you, it can be handy to know how much goes into the job. It’s not simply about showing up and painting over what already exists.
The most difficult part of preparing for an exterior paint job is sanding and scraping. As most previously painted surfaces will have loose and flaking paint, this needs to be scraped off and the edges sanded flush so that the new coat does not follow the same pattern of flaking way too soon into its life.
As the loose paint is removed, some damaged areas may become visible. These are likely caused by a number of things such as wear and tear, weather, or even animal and insect activity. Depending on the cause and the damage, there are different ways to handle the repair – all of which our team at Wes Hull Painters are familiar with and can handle with precision. Once all this is done, we generally opt for a pressure wash to help clean up anything else.
Check the weather
Now you may think this only refers to checking the clouds in the sky to see if rain is on the way, however, there are other aspects of the climate that need to be considered too. For example, many caulk and paints have a limited range of working temperatures.
Too hot or too cold, and they will cure slowly or not at all. Perhaps the most relevant condition to consider is the humidity. We all know Brisbane weather can swelter in the summertime and high humidity can slow down cure times. If you plan to paint in humid weather, always ensure the previous coat is fully dry before adding another.
On a similar note, the path of the sun will also help with drying so consider how the sun moves over your house as areas with less direct sunlight may not dry as fast as the places that do receive a fair amount of sun.
Choose the right paint
Last but certainly not least, selecting the right paint is perhaps the most vital step of all. Whether you have a house with timber weatherboard, brick, concrete, or a rendered exterior, you need to make sure that the paint you choose will work for the substrate.
Though you may think that any paint that works for brick would work for wood, the formulations of these paints may be different. It’s also important to note that while some exterior paints are self-priming, others may need a primer before they are applied such as our Dulux Weathershield range.
Now, we know everyone gets lost in colours and others struggle to tell one shade of grey from another, however, we’ve got a few tips to help you narrow it down. Do not look at paint swatches in artificial light and definitely don’t select one based on how it looks when you’re researching colours on your phone or computer.
Sunlight, artificial light and screen light are all different colours and will change the way a colour looks. This is also why it’s important to do test patches – plus, colours can still look different when applied to different surfaces.
Expert tip: At Wes Hull Painters, we’ve noticed some timeless colour schemes over the years. Consider monochrome, earth tones and even pastels with a nice white trim!
Contact us
When it comes to exterior painting, there isn’t much prep work to be done from the customers end. Sure, moving some obstacles and keeping pets and children out of the way is super helpful, but that’s really all you need to do.
Our team at Wes Hull Painters will clean, sand and repair where necessary and we’ll keep an eye on the drying process. We’ll keep in touch with you throughout the entire process, letting you know the estimated finishing time and some tips to increase the longevity of your new paint.
For more information or to get a free quote on Brisbane exterior house painting, call Wes Hull Painters today on 0400 528 648.