Sometimes hiring a Surrey painting company to paint your house isn’t what you’re looking for. Maybe you want to try tackling the project yourself. But maybe you’re concerned about doing a good enough job so that the paint will last and look good. Let me tell you, a job is nothing without a thorough, consistent process to efficiently achieve quality results.
I am going to go through step by step the most efficient way to go about tackling your Surrey house painting project so that you can do it as efficiently as possible, make it look good, and save some money this year. The same process that we, as painters in Surrey BC, use to warranty our work for a full 5 years.
Tools and Materials That You’ll Need:
A pressure-washer, several drop cloths, several roles of tape, several roles of masking paper, two rolls of 3M masking plastic, a 3M masking gun, a paint scraper, several sheets of 100-120 grit sandpaper, a caulking gun, several tubes of caulk, a putty knife, wood filler, painting trays and buckets, 2 bucket grids, 2 pot hooks, 1 paint brush per paint or colour that you’ll be using, 1 12” roller handle and sleeves to go on it, 1 4” roller handle and sleeves to go on it, 1 painting pole, ladders tall and short, a paint sprayer (optional), a respirator (if you will be spraying), and finally the paint.
There are 5 Steps That Experienced Surrey Painters Take in Ensuring That Your Home is Painted Correctly.
Step #1: Cleaning
Cleaning is essential to any exterior Surrey painting project. Imagine you wanted to stick a piece of tape to a wall. Now imagine that between the wall and your piece of tape was a post-it note that was already on the wall. When you put the tape onto the post-it note, the tape has the appearance of being stuck to the wall. So, what happens a few months from now when the post-it note falls off the wall? The tape goes with it.
Such is the case with paint. If you paint a dirty surface, it will look like it is adhering to the surface. But down the road, when the mold, mildew, dirt that you painted over loses its grip on the house, the paint will come peeling off with it.
The idea here is to remove surface contaminants that will impede adhesion of your primers and paint to the substrate. The most efficient way to go about this is to use a pressure washer. If you don’t own one, they can be rented from most major hardware stores. There is a large chain of orange hardware stores that come to mind .
When using the pressure washer, try to keep the tip of the wand no closer than 12” from the surface. If you do get a little too close it’s ok, you’ll be painting it later so you can sand and fill those areas in.
Remove all green, and black moss and algae. Pay particular attention to the North side of the house as these areas don’t get any sunlight and tend to have more grime growing on them.
You also want to wash off as much dirt, dust, spider webs, and other grime as you can.
Don’t be embarrassed once you get up and personal with your house and see how dirty it actually is. Everyone’s house is the same
Step #2: Painting Preparation: The Most Important Part of a Surrey Painter’s Work
Including the cleaning stage, prep work is the most important part of a painting project. How well a Surrey painting company prepares a house will dictate how long the paint job will last.
In this stage, what you want to do is go on a hunt. What you are looking for is peeling paint, cracks or joints in the wood that will get wet when it rains, and shiny, glossy surfaces.
If there is paint on your house that is peeling, the first thing that you want to do is scrape the peeling paint away with your paint scraper. Once you’ve removed the flaking paint, sand those areas and apply a high-quality primer where bare wood has been exposed.
Next, look for joints in windowsills, door frames, and other areas that aren’t protected enough by the overhang of your roof, such that they will get wet when it rains. Take your caulking gun, loaded with a tube of caulk, and squeeze some into the cracks. Wipe the excess of with a wet rag.
Lastly, paint sticks best to clean dull surfaces. So, if you see any surfaces that are shiny, like your front door, then dull it down with some sandpaper. Removing the sheen will help the paint to grip.
Read the blog post “Painting Preparation: The Most Important Part of a Surrey’s Painters Work”.
Step #3: Masking, Downspout and Shutter Removal
Covering things that you don’t want to get paint on is very important for your Surrey painting project. If you are planning on spraying some of the paint onto your house, then this stage is even more important for you to pay attention to. Paint drips and sprays from rollers and brushes as well, so don’t think that you can skip this step if you don’t plan on spraying.
Always cover things that you will be working above and beside. The wind can catch some paint spray coming off a roller and move it a few feet to the left or right. Try to use several drop-sheets and cover an entire area at once, rather than using one drop-sheet and moving it every time you move your ladder.
If you will be spraying paint, take your 3M hand masker loaded with tape and plastic and cover all the parts of the windows that you won’t be painting. For example, the vinyl and the glass. Next take your 3M hand masker loaded with tape and paper, and mask along roof lines, vinyl soffits, foundations, and door hardware.
When removing the downspouts from your house, an experienced Surrey painting company will label each piece and I recommend you do the same. It can be a real jigsaw puzzle when putting it back together. Place the downspouts on some drop-sheets in the yard for you to paint later. Same goes for shutters.
Step #4: Painting – How To Paint Your Home Exterior
Yes, painting is the second to last stage, and how this stage turns out relies heavily on how well the first three stages were executed.
If you are painting the house by yourself, or if you are doing it all with a brush and a roller, then I recommend you tackle it one side at a time and go from top to bottom, left to right. If you are applying more than one coat, apply all coats to a given surface before switching to the next surface. For example, apply all coats of paint to your siding before painting the windows that are touching the siding. This will save you from wobbly lines and many touch-ups at the end.
Good Surrey painters will use a paint sprayer for much of the project to speed up the work and offer enhanced results. If you will be applying some of the paint with a paint sprayer, then I recommend painting the siding or stucco on the whole house first. This is because, with a paint sprayer you will get paint on the trim. It’s unavoidable, unless you spend a tremendous amount of time in stage #3 covering all your house’s trim.
Once the siding or stucco has been painted, then tackle the remaining surfaces one side at a time, top to bottom, left to right.
Next, setup your downspouts and shutters that you removed earlier on some empty buckets or 2x4s on some drop-sheets in the yard and get to work painting them.
When they are fully painted with all coats, reinstall them on the house.
Stage 5: Remove Masking, Touch-Up and Tidy-Up, Recycle Used Paint Cans.
The best Surrey painting companies, like Blue Chip Painting, like to showcase their work when it’s complete. The finishing touches make a big difference.
Much of this stage is taken care of along the way. However, do a final sweep of the house and remove all the tape, plastic, and paper that you used to cover and protect various surfaces of the house and place them in garbage bags.
Next, take a pen and paper and for each side of the house right down any deficiencies that you see, then get to work knocking off each item on your list.
Lastly, make a pile of all the used paint cans. These can be taken to any recycling depot where they will be handled properly.
Pack up your tools and your done! Congratulations on all our hard work, your house looks great!
Receive a Free Estimate from Blue Chip Painting
At Blue Chip Painting, all jobs, big or small, get the same expert attention and TLC we’ve become known for. We prepare all surfaces correctly and never cut corners, so your home’s paint and stain look great and lasts longer. If you’re looking for a Surrey painter who really cares, contact us for a free painting consultation and estimate.