How To Properly Protect Your Exterior Paint Job

Painting your home is lots of fun, but it comes with many challenges, like frustrating interruptions from weather elements. Here’s a guide on how to properly protect your exterior paint job. From warping to chipped paint, these are fixes you need when taking care of your siding.

Dust and Clean Your Walls

There are many methods to help prep your sides before painting, just as there are things to do after you finish. However, if you plan to clean your walls, you should dust them first. Brushing the siding helps rid the area of cobwebs, dirt, and grime.

The other things you should do before applying any detergent or finisher onto your home include:

• Dusting with a broom.
• Vacuuming the borders with a long-bristled nozzle.
• Wiping off spots with microfiber cloths.

Some products will strip walls of their colors and overall durability. Things like degreasers, bleach, and other products come with an overwhelming number of chemicals that aren’t suitable for your home.

Before using a cleaning product, always perform a spot test. The spot test shows how well the material adheres to the wall’s finish. It’s okay to buy eco-friendly products, but those with recognizable, easy-to-pronounce names will be better to use.

Use a Pressure Washer

The best method for cleaning the corners of borders and walls is using a pressure washer. Pressure washing saves you time cleaning an entire surface while leaving more room to get other things done around the house.

Don’t use a pressure washer until you know water guidelines in your neighborhood. Additionally, to avoid excessive damage to your siding, make sure to stand far away, at least on the sidewalk, before you turn on the hose.

Remove Any Mold

If you’ve noticed other issues that could stress the interior, you’ll probably need extra assistance to remove the problem. Many homeowners don’t know the protocol when removing things like mold.

If your home has any sign of mold issues on the outside, you need to remove it. Also, this could mean replacing your siding. If this happens, bring in extra help to assist in finding and killing the mold before it affects any other part of the structure.

The best way to destroy mold is to follow these steps:

1. Inspect your siding for existing spores. They normally appear:
   1. Green
   2. Black
   3. Grey
2. Once you’ve spotted the bacteria, grab a pair of rubber gloves, a mask, and goggles, then start scrubbing what you can with a borax-water mixture.
3. Wipe up everything that’s come off with a rag and soapy water.
4. Don’t touch the area—let it dry.
5. Install new ventilation systems to help control humidity levels.

Document Your Problem Areas

There are likely many problem spots, but you need to be the one to find and record the information. Once you’ve recorded everything you need to know, contact a home exterior painting Cumming, GA company to get information on how to move forward.

Areas you’d want to record and inform your servicer of include the following:

• Blistering or cracking walls.
• Fading or yellow siding.
• Wrinkling siding.

Don’t wait until the last minute to report these problems—you likely will need to do more dire, costly repairs later.

Improve Your Greenery

Although greenery looks great on the sides of a house, they pose a risk to your paint job. To dissipate the risk of any greenery damage, trim your bushes, grass, and vines down so that they don’t scratch or press against the sides.

Additionally, you can move your plants back a few feet to avoid leaves from touching the walls. Moving your plants at least 6 inches away prevents moisture build-up and diminishes the chance of bugs and vermin sneaking in. Also, think about buying planters to hang outside your window if you want your plants to grow down.

Clean the Gutters

Downspouts control water flow when it rains and clear out water after the season’s last snowfall. If you don’t clean your gutters, your foundational levels may deteriorate, and the siding becomes damaged with chipped paint and streaks.

You can eliminate the chance of sacrificing your foundation and siding by either clearing debris yourself or hiring a professional. Whatever you do, make sure to schedule it right away to avoid long-term damages like paint and smudges.

Clear Away Excess Debris From the Yard

Debris often blows into your yard due to high winds and storms. If you don’t clear the clutter away, you risk of damaging your siding. As you accumulate debris in the yard, ensure you go out and pick up everything to maintain curb appeal and protect your exterior paint job.

Make sure you have the following to make cleaning your yard easier:

• A dumpster
• Bags for bigger things
• Gloves
• Rake and leaf blower

Apply the Right Stuff

Your siding is vulnerable, so you need to have the right tools to help it last a long time. A specific coating can alleviate your chances of damage due to heat, sunlight, and bad weather. Additionally, making sure the surface is dry helps deliver a better outcome after painting.

Applying Painting Coats and Primer

It’s essential to coat your home with at least two layers of finisher after placing the primer onto the surface. Make sure to work on your walls’ sides and bottoms for more protection. By doing it in this order, the chance of damage from weather, rot, or mildew decrease.

Eliminating Damage Risk From Heat and Sunlight

Even when your outer walls face the sun, the heat dries it fast. So, the best time to paint is on days that aren’t too hot. Focus on painting the shady areas of your home since they won’t dry as fast. However, if you need to paint the front of your home, install a shade system with a tarp and poles to hold it in place.

Checking for Damp Surfaces

Before applying any paint, wait for surfaces to dry on their own after a rainstorm. After it rains, walls become damp and paint won’t stick well, resulting in color dripping off and creating streaks. Wait at least a week before starting, especially if there are more than two days of rainfall.

Hire a Professional Painter

As you complete your shopping list for the project, it’s always good to hire a professional painter who can precisely assist in priming and painting. It never hurts to ask for extra help on a painting job.

Every painting task comes with ups and downs. Bear Mountain Custom Painting promises many advantages. We always encourage Atlanta homeowners to request a painter to come by and ensure their work comes out the way they expect. Contact us for more information on our expert painting amenities.