Suggested Tools for Your Exterior Painting Project

If the outside of your house is looking a little shabby, a new paint job could do the trick. While many people hire professional painting contractors for exterior paint jobs, if you’re confident in your painting skills and have the time to do it right, you can also paint your exteriors yourself.

Before embarking on your exterior painting project, you should check that you have the right tools on hand. The tools that you need for exterior projects compared to interior projects are slightly different. You may need different brushes, but also tools for cleaning off paint and guaranteeing your safety.

Safety and Set-up

Exterior painting projects usually require you to reach new heights compared to just painting your living room. That is why you need a tall ladder that will help you reach all of your exterior surfaces.

To protect your surfaces and lawn, set up drop cloths around your house. This will prevent paint from getting where it shouldn’t and potentially ruining your greenery due to the chemicals it contains.

Prep Tools

Before you begin painting, you’ll want to prep your surfaces by cleaning them and scraping off any chipping paint. A paint scraper is a useful tool for doing this. You can also get a multipurpose paint tool that includes settings for pulling nails, scraping paint, opening paint cans, and more. 

You will also need to wash your exterior surfaces. You can do this using a hose if your house is made of wood, or a pressure washer if your house is made of sturdier material.

Finally, you will need to make small repairs to the surface before painting, such as filling in holes. A caulk gun can help you fill in dents and cracks quickly.

Painting

Finally, you will need plenty of painting supplies. That includes paint cans, brushes, and rollers. You can also buy other supplies to make painting exteriors easier.

Buckets and roller trays are often easier to carry than cans, particularly if you are going up and down a ladder. 

You want to choose the right tools to apply your paint. The brushes will depend on which kind of paint you are using. Natural bristle brushes are good for applying primer and oil-based paints, while you should use synthetic bristle brushes for water-based paints such as latex. You also need paint rollers of different widths to cover wider and narrower areas.

Finally, if you are confident in your abilities and want to get the job done as quickly as possible, you can get a paint sprayer. A paint sprayer covers large surfaces with paint in no time, but costs money to rent and can be wasteful of paint.

If you’ve painted your interiors before, chances are that you have most of these tools, such as rollers, brushes, and paint trays. Others you may need to go out and purchase, such as paint sprayers and ladders. Investing a little in your tools will be worth it once you see how easy the job can be.