Painterly Painting and Decorating

Painting the outside of a home or a commercial property may seem to be as
simple as slapping a new coat of paint on everything, but if you want it to last and
to you want a good return on your investment, then there is a lot of work that
needs to go into the painting process.

A good paint job can last for up to 10 years, even in rough weather conditions. If
you are hoping that yours will last even a fraction of that, then you need to take
steps to ensure the job is done properly, whether you are doing the painting
yourself or hiring someone to do it for you.

Prep Work
It begins by preparing the site for painting. First, you have to determine what will
be painted. Will all the walls be painted, but not the garage door? Will any
molding or guttering be painted? What about awnings and window sills? All of
these things need to be considered so that you don’t regret the paint job later.
Then you need to clean the house to make it ready for the paint to be applied. If
the building is dirty, then the paints simply won’t stick very well, and it can start
to crack or chip off shortly after it is applied. Pressure washing is usually the best
way to go, but detailed scrubbing may be necessary in some places. After the
building is washed, you need to wait about 24 hours before you apply any paint,
just to give it time to dry.

You also have to schedule the painting for some time when the humidity is not
too high and when there is little to no chance of rain. Find a dry season in the year
and plan your painting in that period, for best results.

Painting
Once the painting actually begins, several coats may need to be applied. How
much paint will need to be put on will depend on a few different factors, such as
how long it is meant to last, how rough the surface is that is being painted over
and what kind of weather conditions are present.

It is important to avoid getting paint on surfaces that are not supposed to be
painted, such as windows and the grass. The more meticulous and careful the
paint job, the better the finished product will look.