How to Hit a Home Run With Your Home Painting
Now that the outdoor painting season — like the baseball season — is in full swing, it’s easy to hit a home run with your home painting. Just take a tip from the pros: Touch the following four bases and you’ll score a perfect paint job.
First. Start your four-bagger with good surface preparation. Your home exterior should be clean and sound before starting to paint. Remove loose, flaking, or peeling paint with a scraper or wire brush. Then feather rough edges by sanding them smooth. If mildew is present, remove it by applying a solution on one part bleach to three parts water, waiting 20 minutes, then scrubbing it off. Rinse the surface clean and spot-prime any bare spots with a top quality exterior primer.
Second. Make sure you have the right equipment. Quality tools and accessories make painting more effortless. They also apply a thicker, more uniform coat of paint, which enhances durability. Choose brushes that are springy, with tightly packed bristles, and high quality roller covers. If you use power washing or spray equipment, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Third. Choose the right weather conditions. It’s best to do exterior painting in mild weather, ideally when the temperature is between 60 and 85 degrees F., with little or no wind. Even then, try to avoid painting in direct sun, since the exterior surface can be 10 or even 20 degrees hotter than the air temperature. Paints form the most protective coating in mild weather, when they can “cure” slowly.
Home. Use top quality paint. You can’t score a home run without crossing home plate, and you can’t get a perfect paint job if you don’t use the right coating. The highest quality paints adhere better; are flexible enough to withstand expansion, contraction, or other movement in the exterior; and contain special additives to resist mold and mildew. That makes them much more durable than ordinary coatings. In almost every case, the best choice is a top quality 100% acrylic latex paint.
Touch each of these four bases and you’ll be painting not just like one of the pros, but an exterior painting all-star.
