Painting the Exterior of Your Home

You can often do it yourself. Be careful to have the right support and do it right and you can save a lot of money. Here are some tips to help.

Keeping a good coat of paint, stain or preservatives on exterior wood materials - and some metals, as well - is essential home maintenance. In addition, most sources cite a good fresh coat of exterior treatments as one of the best investments you can make in getting a home ready to sell. Here are some tips to help you do it right:

• The most important thing in painting is preparation, preparation and preparation.

• Smooth the surface by sanding, scraping or stripping. If it's too damaged, repair or replace it.

• If you have good reason to believe the old paint might contain lead - as in, the paint is white and some coats were applied more than forty years ago - avoid sanding, scraping and other methods which create dust.
  Fill in or otherwise repair missing sections.

• Sand to smooth any repairs.

• Prime all bare spots, including repairs. Choose a primer that is compatible with the material you are painting and with the paint you will use for the top coat.

TIP: use a primer that is colored to be a tint or shade of the top coat - If the final coat is white, for example, a little bit of green or red or blue will help you see the primer distinctly. The paint store can do this for you. Then you can see what's primed AND you can tell when you've painted over all of the primer.

Does your house now look like it has measles? Good, you probably got it right.

• Paint it. Finally. Use a good exterior paint. Use brushes made for the kind of paint you are using.

• To minimize brush marks, touch the brush down on an unpainted area and lift it from an area painted earlier.