Awesome trompe l'oeil walls

When painting the exterior of your house, there are many things you can do to make sure the paint looks as good as possible. However, one of the most important things to make your paint job look good as well as last as long as possible is that you make the proper preparations. To prepare the surface of your house for painting for a long-lasting paint job, there are a few things you should think about.

Washing

The first thing you should do as preparation for your house painting is to wash the exterior of your house thoroughly with a high pressure washer. This should be done before you start scraping to get rid of built-up dirt. It can also make the old pain come off easier. It's important that your house isn't dirty when you wish to paint it, as paint won't stick as well to a dirty surface, but washing it after scraping it can make the water penetrate the untreated wood and cause issues with rot. Be careful when washing around the windows, as a high pressure washer can break the window glass and water might also leak into your house through the edges of the window.

Scraping

When you are going to start scraping, the first thing you need to make sure of is that the wood is completely dry after your wash. Scrape the surface following the wood grain, and be careful around nails. If there are any nails poking out, you can either pound them in or pull them out. If you need to pull a nail out, you should make sure to pound a new one in just beside where the old nail was to make sure the board is firmly attached to your house. You should also buy spare blades for your scraper to have close by if your scraper goes blunt. A sharp scraper will do a more effective job removing old paint, and also make the scraping go faster.

Filling holes

You should also fill all holes and pits that might have formed in the wood with a resin filler. Ask at your local paint shop for the best type of filler for your house. Fill all larger holes up and let it dry. Then you need to sand the filler down so that the surface of the wood remains smooth. You should also examine your outer wall for holes from old nails, as these too should be filled before you continue painting. When you've sanded the surface and made sure all holes are filled, you should apply a sealant to the entire surface before you start painting.