Tips to Prep Your Home for Exterior Painting

Posted by Becky on 05 Jun 2008 | Tagged as: Quinte, Trish Belford, design, real estate, tips

Spring is the perfect time to give your home a new look with a fresh coat of paint.  A good paint job instantly updates your home, while protecting it from the elements and saving you the higher cost of extensive repairs.

Before tackling any paint job, it’s always a good idea to prepare the surface.  The paint experts at Home Hardware offer the following tips for preparing your home for exterior painting this season:

  •  Before you pick up a paint brush, take a moment to determine potential problems that need to be addressed, such as open joints, rotted wood, peeling paint and mildew.
  • Replace broken plastic shutters or repair wooden ones and replace siding and trim that show signs of rot or splitting.
  • Scrape peeling or flaking paint and sand the surface so that a fresh coat of paint will adhere to it.  An electric sander will easily strip blistered, peeling or flaking paint.
  • Apply an exterior latex or oil-based primer with a brush and allow it to dry completely.
  • Remove light fixtures and other exterior hardware so that you don’t have to paint around them and apply masking tape to protect areas you don’t want to paint.
  • Always protect your eyes and wear gloves.
  • Apply a topcoat with a good quality brush or applicator.  Start at the top and work your way down, saving the trim for last.

Source:  Real Estate Today, May 30, 2008, p.28, Volume 13, Number 21.

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