Image by Emily May CC BY-SA 2.0 Flickr

Painting the outside of your house is a lot of work. Many think that painting is as simple as dipping a roller brush into a tray of paint and rolling it on the wall. What most people don’t know is that a painting project can only be as good as how you prepared the wall. It will basically determine how long the paint is going to last and without preparation, you will have a cracked and faded wall in just months.

Take note of these areas professional Austin house painters always prepare to ensure the best quality:

Tidying the Area

Before applying anything to the walls, a painter needs to remove the old paint, dust, and loose concrete on the wall, basically cleaning the surfaces. Many contractors use a power washer to easily remove substances from the wall. Be careful of using a power wash as it can strip of old paint, especially if you’re planning to just paint over. For wall surfaces that are extremely dirty, you can use a detergent and rinse it with water. For walls covered in algae, mold, and mildew, use a fungicidal detergent.

Fixing Cracks and Holes

Wall cracks can show through a new coat of paint. To avoid this, use painter’s putty to smooth out the surface. Holes can be similarly patched with putty. Just be sure to sand it with a medium-quality sandpaper to smoothen out the surface.
The sanding process will take time and can leave quite a mess as the sanded particles can cover the furniture. Most contractors use an electric sander as it makes the process faster. Make sure that you brush the dust off the walls too.

Priming

Though priming is not always needed when painting over old colors, it will help the paint stick to the surface better and will provide a better finish. Priming will also reduce your need for paint coats so it can save you a considerable amount of money.
With these painting reminders, you will definitely prepare your exterior surfaces the right way. However, if you don’t have the time to work on a tiresome paint job, then talk to our Austin painting pros at (512) 865-6580. We’ll handle all of your painting needs at an affordable price!