A fresh lick of paint on the outside of your home can be a great way to boost curb appeal and make your home more welcoming. There are clearly different rules when it comes to painting the exterior of a building vs the interior of a building. Below are just a few tips to help make painting the exterior of your home easy.
Choose the right paint
Painting the exterior of your home requires specialist exterior paint. But did you know that there are different paints for different surfaces? Some exterior paints do claim to be ‘multi surface’, but if you want the best results you should ideally pick a paint that’s made for your surface (such as one for brick, wood, metal or stucco). Make sure to test out colors on a patch of wall first and let them dry to see what they look like before continuing painting.
Wait for the right weather
It’s worth checking weather reports before planning an exterior painting project. You don’t want to paint outside if it’s likely to rain as the rainwater will wash away much of the paint before it’s had a chance to dry. Wait for a day when there are no showers expected, but make sure that it’s not too hot when you start painting – if the temperature is too high, paint will dry before it’s had a chance to soak into the wall, causing it to crack and come loose.
Clean your home’s exterior first
You should take the time to remove any dirt, fungi or flaking paint first. This will ensure a smooth finish when you paint your exterior. You can use a sponge and wire brush to clean your exterior, or you can simply jet-wash it.
Upgrade your ladder
One of the biggest dangers when painting the exterior of a building is a ladder injury. Regular ladders can be quite dangerous, so you may want to consider upgrading to a tall step ladder or even platform steps. You could even look into acquiring a mobile scaffold to make things easier. Such tools can be bought or rented.
Consider an extension pole
Another option is to attach a roller to an extension pole. Some extension poles are so large that you can paint the entire exterior of a home from ground level. This can make painting much safer.
Grab some masking tape
Want to stop paint splashing onto window frames, doors and guttering? Using masking tape along borders is one effective way to do this. You can buy exterior masking tape, which is waterproof and more heavy duty. However, in most cases normal masking tape will do the job.
Apply two coats
Applying two coats is recommended as it can make your paint job bolder and more long-lasting. With some darker colors, it can even be worth applying three coats to help get the best results. Make sure to let the first coat dry before applying the second coat – drying time can vary depending on the temperature, but you’ll generally have to wait a few hours.
