Steps in the Exterior Painting Process

When a homeowner hires painting experts to paint their home, whether it be the interior or the exterior, there are a series of steps or guidelines to ensure the paint job will be professional and last as long as possible. Today, we’re going to talk about some of those steps, to give the reader some idea of what they can expect during the painting process.

Choosing colors

Before the nuts-and-bolts painting action takes place, the homeowner needs to sit down and decide on color options for the various aspects of the job. Interior and exterior paints are different. Interior paints are made for hands-on situations, such as sticky fingerprints and removing them! Exterior colors are formulated more for weather and UV resistance.

In previous blogs, we have talked about choosing interior and exterior paints. We need to know the HOA demands in the case of an exterior painting project.

Inspection

Before painting, the painter will walk around and inspect either the rooms or the exterior, depending on what he is painting. He is looking for damage, such as damaged wood, chipping paint, mold, termite and rodent damage, as well as splintered, warped, or otherwise compromised wood. Everything needs to be cleaned or repaired before applying the coats. Some plants or trees may need to be trimmed away from the house, too.

Protect and clean

The next couple of steps are somewhat flexible in their order depending on the outcome of the inspection, but if there is cleaning such as power washing, scraping, etc., the plant material, pool, and walkways or patios beneath the house need to be protected with drop cloths or plastic. We mask or tape off anything which we don't paint.

Repair

At the same time, any portions of the structure which are deemed unfit for painting need to be repaired. An example of this would be a warped patio door. Repairs to eliminate rodent damage and heavily weathered fascia, are other examples of damage to fix before painting.

Caulking

We will caulk the windows or doors and exterior siding as needed. While caulking is a form of weatherproofing, the outcome of a professional painting project depends heavily on quality caulking.

Primer

In some cases, a primer is necessary to get the best possible cohesion of paint. We use primer for newly repaired sections where the wood has never been painted, in areas which had to be heavily scraped, and in a few other applications. In most circumstances, if repairs or heavy scraping wasn’t necessary a primer is unnecessary. In some cases, the steps are in a slightly different order, but this will give a homeowner a general idea.

Painting

Painting begins after everything is inspected, cleaned, repaired, caulked, and primed. As you can see, professional exterior painting is a myriad of details and extras which make the final product look great. After painting some sections, they may need to be masked to prevent color blending. In some of the newer developments, there can be several shades of a color assigned to various areas of the exterior. For example, the trim and the doors might be a different color than the central part of the house. You can read more about that here.

None of the steps should be minimalized, skipped, or poorly executed to obtain the highest quality results. In the long run, quality preparation is a crucial element of a quality paint job that you can be proud of for years to come.

M & B PAINTING, a Father-Son family-run business, has a proven record of Service Excellence in the interior and Exterior paint projects. Call us at 623-289-3366 for all of your painting needs!