Tips And Trucks For Successful House Painting

There is more to house painting than just slapping up a coat of paint. The job can be messy, amateurish if the homeowner is in a rush or impeccable and of professional quality if he or she will follow a few tricks of the trade. This is not a task to hurry through or it will have to be done over again sooner rather than later. Without proper attention, the new coat can flake off in big disappointing peels. Unsuccessful painting can mean that the entire task will have to be done over again or that it will look like a sloppy eyesore for years to come. Here are some tips for the best results:

- Tools of the trade: Pros take great pride in their tools and for good reason. Having high quality paintbrushes, ladders, stir sticks and rollers will allow a superior result more easily. Inferior quality paintbrushes may seem like a bargain at the cash register but once the painting begins, it may become a different story. Shedding brush-hairs left in the path of the shoddy paintbrush will be a pain to pick out of the newly applied layer. Those crummy brushes will shed more than a dog in the middle of summer. Without a retractable ladder, a homeowner will have a hard time reaching various spots. Hauling out a kitchen chair to climb up on will result in slops and streaks on the unsuspecting furniture. Stir sticks are a must or the colors won’t be mixed properly after the can has set for a while. And rollers, like paintbrushes, must be of high quality for proper absorption and distribution.

- Preparation: If the surface is dirty and peeling, it must be cleaned and sanded before a new coat of latex or enamel is applied. Paints don’t stick to dirt and instead of a quick cover-up job, there may be layers of wet muck that fall off before a painter knows it. Flakes peeling underneath will cause a new layer to peel away as well. Prep isn’t something to skimp on if a topnotch result is desired. Taping around windows and woodwork is also crucial in order to keep them neat and spot-free.

- Color choice: Choosing the color will take a bit of time. It’s not as easy as it may seem. There are zillions of shades of a hue as simple as white. Taking swatches and samples home from the store will be an important step. Looking at tones next to existing furnishings, lighting and woodwork will help with selection. Once a hue has been settled upon, painting a sample area and living with it for a few days will be a good idea. This will allow a homeowner to see what it looks like at various times of the day and in certain lighting.

When a homeowner decides to do some house painting, he or she must take the time to do it right. Proper tools, preparation and color choice will be steps on the path to enhanced curb appeal. The interior and exterior of a house can be greatly improved upon with a product as seemingly simple as a can of paint.