Can You Paint Your Exterior?
If you have painted the inside of your commercial building, you might be thinking about painting the outside too. Exterior painting is always a good investment because it increases your curb appeal and changes the color scheme of your building. That being said, it is important to realize that painting exterior surfaces is always more difficult than painting interiors. This article explains a few of the possible pitfalls of exterior painting. It is not necessarily meant to dissuade you from painting your exterior, but it should prepare you and give you full knowledge of what to expect.
Check the Weather
First of all, is important not discount how much the weather can affect your paint job. Not only does working in the direct sun make the job more laborious, it can also affect actual paint application. That is, if you try to paint on a muggy, humid day, it will take longer to dry and you could have issues with the durability of your paint. Of course, you always have to worry about possible rain when painting outside. Also, since you're painting outside, where it might be windy, you need to do a lot more masking off. To protect from overspray, you need to cover the ground and everything at least 10 feet out from the wall.
How to Get Good Coverage on Rough Surfaces
Another major factor with exterior painting is that the surfaces are much rougher. This means that getting complete paint coverage is more difficult. Usually, professionals will use spray guns because it speeds up the process. However, if you don't want to use a spray gun, you can use rollers, but it will probably take several coats to get complete coverage.
The Work is More Physical
The physical work involved with painting exterior surfaces is definitely more demanding. If you have a multi-story building, you will need to spend a lot of time on a ladder and scaffolding. The logistics of exterior painting on multi story homes is definitely something that takes some planning and consideration. Your body will definitely get more exhausted you were doing the work from the top of a ladder.
If you do decide to paint your own exterior, just make sure that you do at the prep work and work safely. It might not be the funnest job, but you can save a significant amount of money by painting your building on your own. Contact a service, like Trend, for more help.
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