• Make sure the house is clean before you start. Every house has mold or dirt on it somewhere. If the house isn’t clean, the dirt or mold will lift the new paint.

• Power wash the house and scrub the siding or any area that will be repainted. The best way to scrub the house is with a hard, nylon-bristled brush. Attach the brush to a pole to add more force to the scrubbing.

• After power washing and scrubbing it is a good idea to scrape the house by hand by moving clockwise around your home with a carbide blade scraper. Like with everything, there are cheap scrapers and expensive scrapers. Splurge for the more expensive blade because the quality is important.

After you’ve finished, go around the house a second time, but in a clockwise manner. This is to make sure you don’t miss a loose spot.

• Make sure all screws, nails or any other fastenings are tight. Do this before you paint for a clean finish.

• It’s important to caulk before beginning to paint. It will save you on energy costs and in the end it will make your paint distinct. Be sure to caulk any soffits, windows and doorways.

• Before you begin using primer and paint, take one last look for any spots that need to be scraped so that it doesn’t become an issue later.

• Use primer. On any bare spots of wood be sure to use primer. Unlike paint, primer grips to bare wood and will preserve and seal it. If you paint bare wood without primer it will stick for a while, but will begin to peel. One coat is usually enough. Here is another place where you should splurge on the more expensive primer.

• After the primer is on, it’s time to paint. Apply one coat of paint moving around your house is a clockwise fashion. Be sure to back brush or back roll the paint to work it into the wood. It helps the paint to stick. Apply a second coat of paint, but in a counter clockwise direction. Again, this helps be sure that you haven’t missed any spots.

• Using a brush, apply your trim paint. This should be done in two coats by hand because of the finer lines.

• When painting outdoors, it is important to have proper equipment. Use ladders appropriate for your weight and splurge on your brushes and sprayers.

• An average size rambler should take at least 70 to 80 man hours to paint. It’s important to take the time to do it right the first time so the paint doesn’t begin to peel.

These tips were provided by Steve Ball of Paintball in Albert Lea. Paintball can be reached at 507-373-1130