Buffalo, NY Residential Painters

Generally, an exterior painting job will need to be redone every 5-10 years. Stucco tends to last longer, wood on the other hand expands and contracts more with changing temperatures which loosen the paint sooner.

It is best not to put off your exterior painting until the house is badly peeling. When it gets to that condition, it will end up costing you more in preparation time and possibly dry rot repair work.

If however, the property is in a bad condition when you get to it, do yourself a favor – go the extra length and ensure that thorough surface preparation is done. The idea is to create a sound surface for the new coats to adhere to. This requires more time but is necessary for the paint job to last.

On a regular basis, you should walk around the exterior of your home looking for dryr ot, water penetration, cracks, and chalking. About once a year it is a good idea to pressure wash your home to remove the accumulation of surface dirt.

Interior paint typically gets dirty in many situations: hand prints around switches and knobs; splashes in kitchens and bathrooms; marks on hallways and corridors; “soot” accumulating above electric lamps and other heat sources. Removing dirt before it accumulates not only improves appearance, it reduces the chances of it getting permanently embedded in the paint film.

Check for dirt periodically and assume it will be present in and near cooking areas (airborne cooking oil) and at all places at hand height. Always initially clean the surface with a mild detergent using a sponge or a soft cloth. Resort to harsher cleaners only when necessary, recognizing that alkaline cleaners can dull the sheen or gloss of oil-based paint. Abrasive cleaner will burnish nearly any paint and will dull the gloss of satin, semigloss and gloss products. Washed surfaces should be rinsed thoroughly because residual cleaner can interfere with the adhesion of paint applied later.