What is the most important part of the painting process?
What is the most important step in the painting process?
Anyone can pick up a paint brush or roller and paint a house or building. But what separates a professional job from one that your sixteen year old son that spends 50% of his time on Facebook and the other 50% playing video games could do? What makes the job last, year after year? The weather we have in South Bend with the harsh winters and humid summers affects the longevity of your paint job because the house is constantly expanding and contracting. This is why it is important to get a professional that is going to take the time to follow all the necessary steps to insure a quality job that lasts.
The basic painting steps are:
- Wash
- Prep
- Prime
- Paint
The first two steps are the most important. First, washing the exterior of the home is important because paint will not adhere to a surface with dirt, chemicals and all of the everyday toxins that are constantly in the air. You can power wash or hand wash the exterior of your home; an additional option is to use a TSP substitute from Sherwin Williams to help remove greasy grim, chalked paint, and soot.
The Prep work is definitely the most important part of the process and it is often the one that is neglected because it is hard work. Prep work involves Scraping, Sanding, and Caulking. Scraping the loose paint is extremely important because if you paint over chipped or peeling paint the new paint will just get pulled off by the old. When you scrape the peeling paint off, you sand the edges to prevent the peeling from happening again. Many contractors and painters despise doing the prep work because it is hard work, time consuming, and seems endless. Luckily for my customers, I have young, energetic men that have the ability to put in this tough work because their bodies recover faster than most of ours! It is important to make sure that the contractor that you do choose is properly following these prep procedures so the paint will adhere properly to the surface. The prep work is what will add years to your paint job and it will end up saving you money…and who doesn’t like to save money?
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