Exterior Paint is something that is very easy to learn but takes years to master. The best exterior paint practices are something that anyone who is looking to paint their home needs to know especially if its your first time.
1. Check the Weather Before any Exterior Painting Starts!
This might be the simplest tip, however it is the most important step to ensure your project goes as planned.
Make sure to give yourself at least four full days of clear skies. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that getting rain on your wet exterior water based paint is a bad thing.
2. Wash down the Surface Before Painting.
Making sure the surface is properly clean before painting, this can either make or break your project.
It is important to wash the surfaces because improperly cleaned surfaces will cause your paint to not stick well. Furthermore how good of a job you do cleaning the surface will determine long your paint will last and how good it will look.
The quickest and simplest way to clean your exterior wall would be to hydro blast your walls down with a power washer or if you’re on a budget (most of us are) just spray it down with a hose.
3. Use The Best Exterior Paint Money Can Buy, In Our Case : Tex Cote, Cool Wall.
There are many different types of paint and different products that are out there on the market. However you do not want to skimp out on what you will be painting your home with, especially considering it will be the first thing that people will notice looking at your house.
We recommend using Tex-Cote Cool Wall for painting your home. It provides many bonuses, such as being lifetime and it brings your home temperature down. Cool Wall is definitely the best exterior paint that money can buy. It does tend to be about two-three times more expensive as regular water based paint, but Cool Wall is lifetime coating while water based paint will need to be touched up again in 5-10 years time.
Other benefits of Cool Wall include:
- Waterproof
- Fire Resistance Rating of A + (where as regular paint is combustable)
- Contains less than 40% water, while regular paint is over 80% water.
- Energy Efficient, can bring outside wall temperature down by 40 degrees.
The only downside to Cool Wall would be that it is very difficult to apply, you need to coat 2 feet below the ground level of your home and make sure there are no cracks or any dry rot. You can apply the coating yourself, however we recommend a professional application. In fact only a few contractors in Sacramento are even licensed to apply Cool Wall coating, Cobex is thankful to be one of them.
You can Read more about Cool Wall Tex Cote by clicking here.
4. Repair the Surfaces.
Make sure to replace any rotted wood, because if there is water damaged wood the paint won’t stick on to it correctly.
Make sure to seal any cracks with a professional grade patching compound. Check out the link bellow for what recommend you use before painting on cracked wood. Neglecting to patch up and repair any dry rot will cause bubbling in your paint down the line. However if you did choose to go for the superior product of Cool Wall, the water trapped beneath the surface will actually pass through to the outside of your home.
Cool Wall is breathable and behaves similarly to your skin, so any trapped water will be able to escape your home easy.
You can check out a nice wood patching compound by clicking here.
5. Prime Before you Paint!
Priming the surface you’re about to paint will determine wether it lasts a few years or a decade.
Make sure to mask everything you don’t want to get paint on before priming. Make sure to prime the surface so that any remaining moister or uneven surfaces are covered. However if there is already a smooth surface of paint, a layer of primer is unnecessary.
6. Double Layer the Paint.
You will need to double layer your paint, even if you decide to go with a lifetime coating like Cool-Wall. If you don’t double layer your paint, it will fade significantly faster, that means more costs down the line and an uglier looking home.
