When it comes to painting our house, the interior isn’t the only thing that’s worth our attention. The exterior of the house is equally, if not, more important. How a house looks like from the outside speaks volumes. A good paint job makes your house look nice and fresh and has people wondering how good it must look on the inside if the exterior is that good looking.
However, the exterior paint is not just about looking good. If it were only up to that, we’d paint the outside of our houses every year. A good exterior paint job is also protective. Outside paints are usually more durable and serve not only to look good but to protect your house. Coating wood or other materials with paint and protective coating will protect the outside of your house from deteriorating faster. The outside is exposed to a lot of sunlight, rain, snow and all kinds of different weather, so it’s important to properly protect it.
With that in mind, it’s important to say that painting the inside and the outside of your house only sounds similar. In fact, the process is much different and it isn’t something you should try out without good preparation, knowledge or experience. If you’re planning on doing some exterior painting, continue reading, because we’re going to talk about some of the common mistakes people make when it comes to exterior painting. Without further ado, let’s jump right in.
1. Rushing Or Skipping The Preparation
We get it, you’re eager to freshen up your house with a makeover. However, don’t be irresponsible just because you’re itching to see your house will look like after it’s freshly painted. It’s understandable to want to rush the things, no judgment here – but keep in mind that if you do, the results you’re hoping for aren’t going to be there. So, take your time with the preparations, the house isn’t going anywhere. It’ll wait patiently for you to get everything ready. Now, let’s talk a little bit about the prep and are the most common mistakes when it comes to prep.
2. Not Removing The Old Paint
First of all, you have to get rid of old paint. That means, grab a paint scraper or a wire brush and get to work. It might be a little bit time consuming depending on the size of the house and how much paint you need to get rid of. If you want to speed up this process, there are electric paint removers out there that will make this job a lot faster and easier.
3. Not Sanding The Painting Surface
One thing to remember – paint will not stick well to irregular surfaces or rough edges. If you notice any of those irregularities, grab sandpaper and smooth out the painting surface. It’s going to make all the difference in the end. The paint will apply well and you won’t see any peeling or discolourations anywhere.
4. Not Cleaning The Painting Surface
You would clean your interior walls before painting, too. One can only imagine how much dirt and debris is there on the outside walls of the house. If not removed, dirt and debris will make the paint not stick to the walls well and you’ll end up with a mediocre paint job and we’re guessing that’s not what you’re going for.
5. Avoiding Repairs
People in general have this unhealthy habit of masking their problems. Whether it’s everyday problems or painting your house, we tend to sweep things under the rug. It’s not uncommon for people to paint over some damaged areas of the house ‘hiding’ the problem that way. Don’t do that. If there’s some damage, fix it and then paint the house.
6. Thinking You Know It All And Not Asking For Help
One of the worst traits in people is thinking they know it all. It’s perfectly fine not to know something and to ask for help. Painting the exterior of your house is time-consuming, hard work. If you can’t do it, there are people that can – people like likepainting.com.au. Don’t think you’ll save money by not hiring a professional to do the job. You won’t. Unless you know what you’re doing, you’re going to end up with a subpar paint job. That’s a waste of both time and money. On top of all that, eventually, you’ll have to hire someone to fix the mistakes.
7. Skipping The Primer
One of the most common mistakes people make when it comes to exterior painting is skipping the primer. Applying primer is as essential to a quality paint job. In case the surface has never been painted before or if it has been thoroughly cleaned and stripped of previous paint, applying primer is paramount. You wouldn’t want the paint to adhere unevenly, right? So, apply a few coats of primer, finish up the prepping phase and only then move on to the painting.
8. Using The Wrong Paint
If we had to, we’d guess you wouldn’t paint your house with watercolours, correct? While we’re sure no one would do something that ludicrous, some people do choose the wrong paint. It’s easy to make this mistake if you’re new this and a lot of people do make it. It’s natural to assume any paint should do the trick, however, that’s not necessarily the case. The exterior of your house will be exposed to a lot of outside factors, such as rain, snow, high temperatures and so on. In order to make sure the paint job survives all that, you should use high-quality acrylic latex paint. They’re a tad more expensive than the regular ones, but they’ll last much longer. And if you’re unsure about which paint to use, consulting with a professional painting company like Sidepost prevents any missteps. It’s always worth investing a little more money and energy to get the job done right.
9. Leaving The Cans Open
The best way to ruin paint? Leave it to dry out. Leaving the cans of paint open in the direct sunlight for an extended amount of time will run the pain. The top layer of paint will dry, the paint won’t mix well and it won’t adhere to the surface in the right way as well.
Those were some of the most common mistakes made during exterior painting. Hopefully, you’re now aware of them and you won’t make them if you decide to do a little bit of painting yourself.
