Home Exterior Painting

Many people love to take up the task of home exterior painting because it is an easy way to give a fresh, new look to the exterior of the house. However, it is a home improvement project where you cannot afford to make any mistakes. After exterior painting, your house should look unique, but should not look out of place in the neighborhood. The choice of the color should be consistent with the other houses around it. The paint color should be in harmony with the interior painting of your house as well. For all these reasons, it requires a lot of meticulous planning. You should also have the knowledge of the type of paints to be used.

Preparation of the Walls
Paint, whether exterior paint or interior paint, will not adhere to any dirty or damaged surface. Therefore, good preparation work on the walls is a must. This is done to ensure a good paint finish. If you find any damage like cracks, holes etc. on the exterior wall, repair them before you apply paint to it. To get rid of the dirt and debris from the wall, the easiest option is to wash it off. Pressure washing will be more convenient for this purpose. Then, with the help of a paint scraper, remove all the loosely bound cracked old paint from the wall. When paint is to be applied on rough walls, make sure you sand them to make them even. Also keep in mind that paint does not stick too well on a glossy surface, so these surfaces will need to be sanded as well.

Home Exterior Paint: Types and Finishes
Generally, the paints available for exterior walls are formulated in such a way that they can withstand the regular expansion and contraction that takes place due to changes in the weather, as well as prevent the growth of mildew on their surface. Basically, there are two different categories of exterior paints: latex based paints and alkyd based paints.

Latex based paints are more popular because it gives a good porous finish and does not trap any moisture. Therefore, the paint does not peel off after some time, making it highly durable. They are also easy to clean with soap and water. Oil or alkyd based paints are good if the exterior walls have glossy surfaces. Otherwise, its disadvantages include difficulty in cleaning the painted surface. Some of the states forbid use of such paints because of air quality regulations. Exterior paints have three different finishes: flat, gloss and semi-gloss. Glossy paint may give a bright appearance to the house, but makes the brush strokes and the defects of the walls visible. Semi-gloss finish for the main part of the wall, and glossy finish paint for the smaller areas are the most widely used finishes for exterior wall painting.

Home Exterior Paint: Colors and Shades
The look of the house also depends on the kind of shades chosen for the exterior walls. Light shades give a bigger feel to the house, while dark shades give the house a small look. Another disadvantage of dark shades is that they fade after sometime. Never use a single color for the entire exterior surface of your home. Exterior doors and windows should be painted in a different color to provide contrast. Depending on the curves of the house, you can use a number of colors to highlight its intricacies. Paint the larger surface of the wall with light colors and use dark shades for the trims. In this way, with the right combination of light and dark shades, you can create a stunning home exterior design. Read more about:

• Exterior Paint Color Ideas
• Exterior Paint Schemes

Home Exterior Painting Process
When the surface is ready to be painted, start by applying a coat of primer. This primer coating is added to make the paint last for a longer time. Let the primer dry up thoroughly before you apply the paint. Application of paint with a brush will give you a much better finish than rollers. It not only gives an even coat to the paint but also helps to paint the crevices in a better manner. Therefore, using a brush for exterior painting is recommended. To start, with mix the paint well before you apply it on the walls. You have to keep doing this mixing during the entire period of painting. Painting should start from the top and move downwards. In the beginning, paint the borders of the walls that are next to the trim. Then paint the main surface of the wall. The strokes of the paint should be in the same direction as the wood grain. Once the applied paint dries up, move on to paint the trims of the exterior doors and windows. Those portions of the wall which are exposed to maximum amount of sun and rain should be painted with two coats. The second coat should be applied only after the first one dries up. Read more on:

• Home Painting Techniques
• Painting Tips and Techniques

Before you start home exterior painting, it is very important that you check the weather forecast. This is because if it rains just after or during the painting process, all the paint will wash away, and your home exterior improvement project will end up in a total mess.