Exterior Paint Preparation – Doing it Right!

Exterior Paint preparation can be one of the most time consuming tasks of a painting project. As professionals, we breeze through it because we do it all the time. But if you decide to take on this job, then the first thing you need to check is the long-term weather forecast. You don’t want all your exposed wood, unfilled cracks and gaps rained on for weeks.

Equipment You Need for Exterior Paint Preparation

If the weather’s clear for a while (and you don’t suffer from vertigo), then here’s a list of the equipment you will need before you can start:-

• A ladder or scaffolding to reach to the highest place you want to paint,
• Plastic sheeting and/or drop sheets,
• A scraper with spare blades, putty knife, wire brush, sugar soap,
• Paint stripper, Fillers appropriate for the surface you are repairing,
• Protective leather or cotton work gloves, a dust mask, safety glasses/goggles,
• A hose pipe with a brush attachment (or a high pressure cleaner),
• Coarse and fine sand paper, scrubbing brush, rubber gloves, painter’s masking tape, plastic bags,
• Paint rollers of different sizes, brushes of different sizes, paint tray,
• Exterior undercoat or primer, top coat.

As with any other painting job, you should also remember to have safety gear on hand. It’s very important that you do your best to protect your eyes, skin and lungs when handling paint. As such, you should make sure to wear gloves, goggles (or some other protective eye wear), and a respirator mask.

The plastic sheet or drop cloth is also very important. Even though you’re painting outside, you don’t want to mess up any of your concrete pavements, grass or even timber! Much like with wearing sunscreen, preventing a mess from occurring is way easier than trying to clean it up.

It’s also best if you don’t attempt to do this paint job by yourself. Especially, if you’ve got to stand on a ladder to paint high areas. Always make sure that you have someone beneath you that’s strong enough to hold the base of the ladder steady.

Exterior Painting Preparation – The Jobs You Need to Do

When we do the exterior paint preparation for your home, here’s how we do it:-

• First we check for old lead based paint. If we find it, we take extra precautions with your health and ours. We wear dust masks and keep you and your family safe too.
• We then scrape off all flaking paint and repair any cracks or holes.
• We use sandpaper to remove any blistering and clean off mould or mildew.
• We carefully sweep up and dispose of the paint flakes so that they don’t mess up your garden or driveway.
• Next, we thoroughly clean the surface and ensure everything gets a good wash. This needs to be done even if the paint looks clean, because many household cleaning products prevent new paint from bonding to the surface.
• We then wash off and make certain there is no residue.
• After leaving the surface to dry, we cover all areas that are not to be painted – such as paving, light switches, door knobs, window panes, and taps.
• We are now ready to apply the primer or undercoat.

When considering taking on an exterior painting project yourself, here are some facts that few people think about. Like what to do with all that equipment when you have finished with it, and how much of your time and energy the job will cost you.

You may well find that exterior paint preparation is all too hard for you. Hence, as Brisbane painters, please feel free to give us a call we guarantee we can do it quicker, better and, in the end, cheaper… and you don’t have to worry about the long range weather forecast!

Call our team of exterior painters today for a free Detailed Assessment and Quote