Exterior Painting Tips and Techniques

Attention to detail matters in many things, but it may not matter anywhere more than it does in painting a house. You may need to spend days to prepare surfaces, repair rot and fill cracks, apply a primer coat, buy top-quality brushes and a high-grade paint and cover everything with drop cloths before you can paint the first stroke.

Getting Started with an Exterior Painting Project

As professional exterior house painters, we respect our customers’ wishes. At Riggins Painting, we hope that you may reconsider and let us paint for you; but we understand and support your decision. These tips and techniques can guide you through the process.

Exterior Painting Tip 1: Prep Work

You can expect to spend more time and effort on preparing the exterior painting surfaces than on actually painting, but their preparation determines the quality of a job. With experience from our exterior painting services, we can recommend that you pressure wash all surfaces with chlorine bleach to get rid of residue from wind and rain. The force of pressure cleans the exterior of grime, mildew, tree sap and sun-damaged paint that exposure to the elements in Memphis TN cause to occur.

Professional exterior house painters can pressure wash your house, or you can buy or rent a sprayer at your local home improvement store. Their psi of about 2000 pounds makes them somewhat dangerous, but they can prepare the exterior the way that you want. The refreshed surfaces can reveal any repairs that you need to make before you apply exterior house paint.

​Exterior Paint Tip 2: Repair

Any cracks that you notice around windows or doors, decorative molding and joints can allow water intrusion that introduces rot in just a matter of time. Caulking can fill them and make them waterproof. Areas that reveal defects in paint need a light sanding to smooth the rough edges. Look for rot on fascia boards where they join the roof and replace or repair them.

Exterior Painting Tip 3: Exterior Paint

The paint department in your home improvement store can advise you about the qualities of paint that make a difference in beauty and durability, and they have a range of paint chips that you can take with you. Make sure to get their recommendations for brushes and rollers, or you may rent a sprayer instead. As exterior house painters, we use masking tape to protect trim and window glass from getting paint on them.

Choosing Exterior Painting Equipment:

Anyone who has painted a house can tell you that it takes a lot of equipment. The list of things that you need may discourage you from a DIY project, but they make it possible for you to do a good job. Among the most needed items, a step ladder offers a more stable footing than an extension model. You need scrapers to loosen peeling paint and steel wool or a wire brush to remove defects that the pressure washer missed.

A putty knife and caulking let you fill in cracks and crevices. Some sanding paper can come in handy to smooth out old, rough paint areas. Roller trays and a grid give you an efficient way to load the paint to prevent dripping, and a special comb helps you clean the brushes so that you can use them again. Make sure your paint store includes stir sticks and can openers when you buy the paint.

Selecting the Right Paint:

The components in exterior paint differ from those for your interior walls. Pigment, binders and additives make a difference that can affect durability and beauty. A paint department at your local home improvement store can help you choose the right product, but you may like to understand the options as a learning experience. This Old House recommends exterior paint that uses the highest quality of components for best results. and our experience as exterior house painters confirms the recommendation.

Advances in technology have produced all-acrylic formulas that you can recognize on labels that state “100 percent acrylic latex.” The paint remains breathable and flexible while retaining its color for a longer time than products that contain vinyl resins or acrylic blends. The versatility of high-quality paints let you use them on masonry and metal as well as wood and vinyl.

Deciding to Take the Easy Way Out:

By now, you may have decided that painting your house by yourself has too many requirements. Exterior house painters work long hours to do detailed work with state-of-the-art equipment. Your home’s façade gives your family and friends the best view of how you live, and it deserves a paint job that looks professionally done. At Riggins Painting, we take care of everything after you select a paint color.

When you let us do the job, you have no equipment to buy or rent, no taxing labor in the sun to prepare the surfaces for paint, no carpentry to repair defects and no brushes to wash. We get in and out quickly so that you can return to the peaceful quietude of a professionally painted home that you expect and deserve. Our reputation as excellent exterior house painters in the Memphis TN area ensures you of a quality job by licensed and insured professional painters.

Choosing a Quality Exterior Painting Contractor:

We guarantee satisfaction on every job, and we have the highest skilled professional painters whose expertise makes your home or condo look almost new again. We treat each client with the respect and appreciation that represents our philosophy of service to the community. Our exterior painting services provide superior jobs for the lovely homes that accent the Memphis area.

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