Things to Know About Exterior Paint

Exterior painting considerations for 2021

Painting your home’s exterior is a big project, one that is frankly better left to professionals. Between climbing ladders, mixing paint, scraping, and sanding, priming, etc. It can take a good number of weekends to complete on your own assuming the weather allows for it. This has always been the case but over time some things have changed in the business of exterior house painting. Today what most people know about the exterior paint itself is outdated. Like so many things, the paint of today has benefitted from improvements over time.

Paint Endurance has increased

With proper preparation and application, high-quality exterior paint lasts longer today, even in harsh environments. Even with that, when spring arrives, you should do a complete inspection of your home’s exterior. Be on the lookout for chipping, cracking, dirt, mildew, and mold. Each of these signifies a different problem that requires addressing and It’s important to address the issues when you first find them. Letting them linger can allow damage to take place. A professional will be able to help diagnose and fix these problems. While the paint lasts longer it doesn’t prevent the materials underneath from occasionally having problems or from its exterior becoming home to dirt and biological growth.

Project Costs

An exterior paint job is not inexpensive. It’s directly dependent on the size and details of your particular home. An estimate should include everything required from the beginning to the end of the painting process. Take stock in the work that will be completed before a paint can is ever opened. If you’re on a strict budget, avoid scope creep by pitching in to do some of the preparation work. Little elements like trimming bushes, repairing cracks, and moving everything away from the house can make it easier for the painters and result in fewer man-hours needed by an entire crew. Ask about what you can do to make the job easier during the bid process.

Colors

Colors are subjective and quite often tied to the region, house style, and your personal preferences. For the most part, exterior colors are usually softer and muted than interior colors. This allows the color to stand up to the blazing sun and not suffer from too much pigment leaching. Geography sets the tone for colors in your area. To get started, just look outside. Flowers, trees, and other neighborhood homes will give you a great starting point. Remember, colors that work well in the desert are different than those on the coast or in the city. While modern paints also hold their pigments much longer, lighter colors perform best in terms of fading less over time.

New Technologies

Everything advances and paint is no exception to that. Modern paints come out every year boasting more years of great-looking paint that is also easier to apply. The most recent development is a paint that creates a non-stick surface that dirt and dust cannot cling to. Another is mildew resistance while others create a protective UV coating so your color suffers less sun fade. It’s very likely that the paint on your house, applied years ago, is no match in terms of performance with what it will be replaced with today.

Other Considerations

Before selecting paint for your exterior painting project there are a few considerations to look at. You’ll want to think about flow and leveling, adhesion, penetration, gloss, and color retention. For professionals like CertaPro Painters® of Rock Hill, this is something that is continually in mind when they serve customers. Rather than just buying the in-house brands from big box hardware stores, the real pros go with the highest grades of paint from industry leaders like Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams.

When you are on the fence between taking a do-it-yourself attempt at painting your house or letting industry professionals with the knowledge, tools, paints, and experience do it for you the choice is easy. If you’re in the Rock Hill or Fort Mill area and thinking about painting your own home or having it done by professionals you owe it to yourself to get a free estimate and see what the differences are versus the time and cost, you have nothing to lose and you might even save a few weekends.