Are you ready to transform your home with a new paint job? Before the painters come to work their magic, do a little preparation. Intelligent prep work optimizes and increases the efficiency of the painting process and results. Here are some tips for preparing your home to be painted.
Wash the Exterior
From bird droppings to pollen and plant debris, the exterior of houses comes into contact with a range of natural items. Preparing your home for an exterior paint job includes washing down your walls and cleaning outdoor surfaces. The dirt and grime clinging onto your exterior walls create potential risks of unwanted lumps and uneven surfaces during the painting process. Plus, if the paintbrushes or rollers collect residue from the walls, they risk contaminating and ruining the paint by spreading the dirt and debris into poured paint mixtures.
Scrape Off Any Existing Loose Paint
Like starting with a clean surface, a flat and even wall also prevents the risk of lumps and unwanted paint textures. Sanding down and scraping off any existing loose paint or bumps on the wall ensures a successful and smooth result. Loose paint can also fall off and break into smaller pieces, spreading debris into the paint mixture, within the fresh coat, and across the wall. Eventually, paint over loose and scraped dry paint scraps peel and crack your newly painted walls, ruining the look and costing you another paint job.
Fix Any Wall Repairs
Holes further produce uneven bases for painting. Painting over gaps and cracked walls hinders the application process in various ways. They create a sinkhole for the paint to fall into, requiring the use of more supplies, elongating the painting process, increasing the risks of air bubbles, and eventually leading to improper drying and cracking paint. Filling holes and smoothing out any wall impurities ensures you optimize the paintwork and produce a flat surface fit for a clean, fresh paint coat.
Put Down Cloths, Covers, and Tape
Although professional painters come equipped with all the necessary tools for a paint project, using your own protective coverings saves a lot of time. Putting down drop cloths, furniture coverings, and tape over specific areas speeds up the job, allowing the painters to start on the paintwork once they arrive. Plus, you can ensure that your furnishings and floors are completely covered to your liking when you do it yourself.
Preparing your home to be painted by professionals or yourself offers a range of benefits. It ensures top-quality results, saves time, and minimizes future issues and extra costs. If you’re looking to start a painting project and need experts in residential painting in Atlanta, Ashford Painting has you covered.