House Painting Tips From The Painting Professionals
Now we’re back in ProTect Painters’ wheelhouse. In addition to choosing a color, special steps may be required to ensure the color on the wall matches the color you envisioned.
Our professional home painters will ensure the proper preparation and priming necessary to make a dark wall light, a light wall dark, achieve a perfect white and above all, meet your expectations.
Why Interior Painting Services from ProTect Painters?
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Interior painting can be done effectively year-round, no matter the weather outdoors. Common problems with interior painting include choosing improper finishes, and poor cut lines along ceiling and base boards. You can be confident that ProTect Painters’ experienced professionals will create precise, straight lines—in fact, that’s the least we can offer our customers! To learn more about our house painting services or to discuss your commercial painting project, contact us today.
How to Select the Right Paint Finish
Selecting the right finish is as important as choosing the correct color. The following are good rules of thumb:
- Flat finishes are best for large areas (body of the house) and for concealing surface irregularities.
- Satin finishes, with a low luster, combine the best features of flat and gloss finishes, such as hiding surface imperfections and resisting dirt collection.
- Gloss and high-gloss enamel finishes are best for highlighting details, such as window frames, doors, and trim. These finishes resist dirt collection and are easier to clean.
- Solid-color stains have the ability to cover wood blemishes and unsightly grains. Semi-transparent stains highlight the wood by enriching its natural grain and texture. Both stains protect wood surfaces from water damage, rot, and deterioration.
- Stains (unlike conventional house paint) penetrate the wood. Semi-transparent stains highlight wood by enriching its natural grain and texture. Stained wood is top coated with a semi-gloss or gloss varnish or polyurethane to protect the wood.
You can assist your ProTect Painters crew with interior projects by having the job space ready to prep. Moving all furniture to the center of the room and pulling art off the walls prior to our arrival will greatly assist us in completing the job in a most expedient manner. Read how to prepare for a residential painting service.
About Our Exterior Painting Services
Ideal weather conditions for exterior home painting are a temp of 70°F and partly sunny skies; however paint will cure and dry at temperatures as low as 35°F. To preserve a prompt, quality result, we will suspend outdoor work if there is a 50% or greater chance of rain in the forecast.
Types of Exterior Paint
When painting your home’s exterior, you can choose between a variety of acrylic/latex and alkyd/oil paints. To help you decide what’s best for your project, consider this:
- Acrylic/latex offers the longest-lasting coating with the best color and gloss retention. It is also the least susceptible to chalking-a powdery run-off below the painted area – and offers the best resistance to peeling and blistering (most frequently caused by moisture). Latex goes on easier, cleans up with soap and water, and dries quickly with fewer odors than alkyd/oil paint.
- Alkyd/Oil paint has a smooth glossy finish and adheres well to slightly chalky and extremely weathered wood surfaces.
You can assist your ProTect Painters crew with exterior house painting jobs by moving any extra items away from the home prior to our arrival. Read our exterior home painting preparation guide.
Common Issues to Fix Prior to Painting
Even the most common house paint problems are troublesome. But with a little know-how and some expert advice from your ProTect Painters representative, we can tackle them in no time. In addition to our extensive prep work that will take care of many of the following issues, consider these tips as well:
Peeling, blistering and flaking
These conditions are often caused by moisture – from both internal and external sources such as poorly ventilated bathrooms, kitchens, leaking gutters, and poorly caulked openings. That’s why it is important to find and correct the source of moisture before repainting. Then correct the damage by scraping loose paint off at least 8-12 inches around the problem areas. Prime bare areas, caulk around window frames to keep moisture from getting into the surface, then apply the chosen topcoat.
Mildew
These fungi thrive on dampness and must be eliminated before painting. Test for mildew by swabbing spots with bleach. If spots disappear, they are mildew. Remove mildew by scrubbing the surface with a mixture of one part household bleach and eight parts water. Let the solution sit for several minutes then rinse with clean water. Let the surface dry thoroughly before applying primer or paint.
Previously painted surfaces
Sound preparation is essential to good looking, long-lasting results. A properly prepared surface should be clean, solid, dull, dry, and patched or caulked. Peeling or flaking paint must be removed by using a paint scraper, wire brush, sandpaper or power washer. Remove any mildew present.
Surfaces that have not been previously painted or that are exposed down to the original surface should be handled as follows:
Wood, wood composition board, or hardboard
These surfaces must be primed with an exterior wood primer. After priming, caulk all holes and siding joints as well as around window and door frames.
Remember, any home painting task is a process. It is going to look bad before it looks great. But we promise it will look great.
Contact ProTect Painters today.