12 Exterior House Painting Tips to Help You Paint Like A Professional

When painting your house, you’ll want to know the best exterior house painting tips and techniques so you can finish the task like a professional.

We’ve put together a list of 12 tips for painting the outside of your home to help you along the way.

Painting Tips to Update the Look and Feel of Your Home

1. Check the Weather Forecast

The first step to take before you start your exterior painting project is to check the forecast. Ideally, you are looking for several consecutive days of good weather – no rain, not too hot, and too windy. This will give you optimal conditions for applying paint and giving it the time it needs to dry thoroughly without being damaged.

2. Invest in High-Quality Tools

When painting the exterior of a home, it generally pays off to invest in high-quality tools to make your job easier and ensure a better quality finish. High-quality tools will include tools for cleaning and smoothing surfaces, products to fix damage or fill gaps, primer to prep surfaces for paint and ensure the best finish, the painting tools themselves, and safety equipment.

3. Clean the Surfaces Before You Start

Before you get into your painting, spend some time with a pressure washer to remove dirt and debris that would cause adhesion problems for the new paint.

4. Remove Loose Paint and Caulk Trims

You will want to scrape away any chipped, cracked, or peeling paint before applying the new coat. Loose layers sitting beneath a new coat of paint can cause adhesion problems, meaning you might have to start all over again.

If the house is an older property, there may be some small gaps in the trims (window frames, window casings, doors or siding). These gaps can then become an eyesore in contrast with a fresh coat of paint. Using a good quality caulk to fill these gaps will help avoid an unsightly finish and also protect the integrity of the paint job and trims. 

5. Prime When Needed

When doing a paint job on exterior walls, it is important to prime your surfaces before you start painting. For example, some surfaces like bare wood or plaster are more porous.

Time spent applying primer will mean less time painting additional layers of paint to completely cover the surface. Primer is not always needed, but it does mean that you can protect the house exterior with another layer against the elements, whilst ensuring a smooth, high-quality paint finish.

6. Sand Down Your Surfaces and Remove Old Painting Work

Before you get started on your painting, you will want to spend some time checking over the exterior of the house to identify any damaged areas or old paint that needs to be sanded back.

Some areas might need more attention than others, but the good news is your new paint will stick better and last a lot longer.

7. Choose the Right Paint For the Job and Seal the Paint Cans When Not In Use

Choosing the right paint and materials is half the work. You want to choose paint that both looks good and wears well in the elements.

We recommend purchasing a high-quality exterior paint from your local paint store designed for the Australian elements. Professional exterior house painters can make some good recommendations, or give us a call for more advice.

Make sure the tin is completely covered over when not in use. This not only ensures value for money by preventing waste but also keeps dust, debris and old paint chips from falling into the can.

8. Practice Good Maintenance

You’ve invested time and labour into your exterior painting in order to complete quality work that you can be proud of. So it makes sense to start a maintenance routine to keep your paint job looking fresh. Clean the exterior walls regularly to prevent any debris build-up.

9. Paint One Side at a Time and Do The Hard Bits First

Painting the outside of your home is no small task and the idea of painting so many large areas in two coats or more can easily become overwhelming.

Don’t try to do it all at once.

Instead, simply paint one side at a time, working through each step one by one until you are finished. This will help the task to be less daunting and more doable.

Also, it is actually highly recommended that you start with the large or broad parts of your painting project first (such as walls and ceilings), before moving on to the details, such as doors, siding or trims.

10. Make Sure You Are Comfortable

Exterior house painters will tell you that the quickest way to ruin an otherwise fantastic job is to push yourself too far. When painting the exterior of your property, try to be mindful of overreaching, straining, or otherwise overexerting yourself. We don’t want you getting hurt.

11. Clean Your Brushes and Rollers When You’ve Finished For the Day

Make sure to take the time to wash and clean out your brush, roller or spray gun in order to get the best value for money out of your tools.

12. Make Sure You Have Enough Materials to Finish Your Painting

One of the biggest rookie mistakes you can make when completing your paint job is to run out of paint. While it is easy enough to take a trip to the store to pick up more paint, you do run the risk of having an uneven finish or having to wait on the store to have the right stock.

Need Help? Get Professional Exterior Painting Services

If you don’t have the time or techniques to invest in doing the exterior painting on your home or property yourself, you can hire a professional team to have your house painted.

Hunter Valley Painting is a team of fully licensed painters offering professional exterior painting services to the Maitland and Newcastle area. From brushing and sanding to a coat of fresh paint, you can sit back and relax knowing you’ll get a good paint job.

We use only the best quality paints and materials in our painting work and take the time to ensure your surfaces and belongings are protected, be it the glass of your windows or outdoor furniture.