7 Simple Steps for Exterior Paint Prep in St. Louis, MO

When you are looking to paint the exterior of your home, it’s important to go in with some kind of plan and to be fully prepared for the exterior painting process.

This is important because when you will be actually painting, it’s a good thing to have everything ready as it can ultimately cost you more time and money in the long run if you don’t prepare first.

With this being the case, let’s look at and consider the seven simple steps for exterior paint prep in St. Louis, MO.

1. Plan Out The Full Project So You Know What Will Be Done When

The absolute first thing you should do when preparing to paint the exterior of your home is to plan out the project.

An exterior painting project can take a number of days, so it’s essential that you know what you will be doing each day.

By planning out the project you will be better prepared when the time comes to actually start.

2. Steady Your Ladders And Scaffolding

A considerable amount of your paint work will be done at a height so it is important that you are steady while doing so.

It’s quite perilous for you or anyone helping you painting if you are up high on the ladder or scaffolding and it suddenly becomes wobbly.

Before the first drop of paint is used, make sure you know where you will place the ladder during the process or have a thoroughly steady scaffolding that will hold still while being used.

3. Cover The Ground Extensively

Just as when you paint your interior, painting the exterior will involve the dripping of paint and when it does drip, you will want it not to land on the ground or your walkways.

To prevent this from happening, it’s important to cover the ground with some kind of heavy drop cloth or weighed down tarp — this way the things covering the ground will not shift as you are working on your house and expose it to dripping paint.

4. Remove Anything That May Get In Your Way If Possible

There are pieces of exterior hardware that can get in the way during the painting process — if those things are not attached to your house permanently, find a way to relocate them such that they are not in the way while you are painting.

5. Remove Flaking And Loose Paint

When you are painting, if you have any paint on the house that is at all flaking or lose you will need to entirely remove it.

You can do this through the use of scraping and sanding tools, which will remove the paint that is loose and then make sure that the surface of the exterior is as smooth as possible by sanding.

6. Power Wash The Exterior (Or Just Wash If Not Possible)

The exterior of your home will have accumulated quite a bit of dirt and after the previous step, some sanding dust as well.

The best way that you can get this all off of the exterior of your home is through having it pressure washed.

Remember to point the spray wand downward when cleaning as you don’t want to spray water upward on your home — the exterior was not meant to take water going in that direction.

7. Check The Weather Before You Start

The weather is an important element in the painting process — if you don’t have weather that is at least reasonable for painting, you should put off painting until the weather improves.

This means that if it is too hot or too cool (and certainly if it is raining or snowing) you should reconsider your painting project and postpone it until the weather improves.

If you haven’t identified a reliable painting contractor yet, Selah Painting would love the opportunity to be your go-to exterior painter in St. Louis, MO. 

Call us at 314-207-0185 to book a FREE estimate and let us help you enhance the exterior of your home because you have better ways to spend your weekend.