Why All Residential Painting Should Be Left to Professionals

Painting the inside or outside of your home is often more complicated than you might realize, and this job is best left to professionals. You might hesitate at this suggestion, thinking that you can easily repaint a small bathroom or an outside deck on your own, and save the cost of hiring a contractor. However, you might note some reasons why painting shouldn't be considered a DIY job, no matter how simple it might seem, and why it's best to call a pro when you need any type of painting done around your home.

Painting over a surface

Of course all surfaces to be painted should be thoroughly cleaned, but not everything can be removed from the surface to be painted, including old paint, mould, mildew, and even ground-in dirt and dust. Also, not all surfaces can be buffed and smoothed before painting.

This doesn't mean that the surfaces can't be painted, but it may require certain types of paint and painting techniques to cover chips on a wood deck, mould that is on a bathroom wall, and other such imperfections. It might also be good to use a particular type of paint to cover a surface that's already painted, depending on if the old paint is latex, acrylic, and so on.

Not using the right paints or painting techniques can mean having mildew show through your new paint, or having that paint settle into cracks and other imperfections. A residential house painter will know what imperfections can be painted over, and how to do this properly, so that your end result looks as expected.

Differences in paint

Prepping a surface will help a paint to adhere properly, but using the wrong type of paint can result in chips and cracks in that paint, and even having the paint outright peel away! If you don't know the difference between acrylic, latex, oil-based, epoxies and other such paints and materials, you could wind up with a new coat of paint that bubbles or seems to literally melt from the walls.

The finish of a paint will also affect its appearance; as with the type of paint itself, if you don't understand the difference between flat, gloss, semi-gloss and the like, your finished paint may look more dull than you prefer or may seem overly shiny and too bright for the space. Because there are so many variations in paint materials and finishes, it's good to leave this work to a professional.