March 27th, 2022

Painting the outside wall: optimally resistant to sun and rain!
Painting your exterior walls is necessary to keep your home looking fresh. If you give your exterior walls a new layer of paint, this will immediately have a huge positive impact on the appearance of your home.
 
But painting exterior walls is one of the most difficult paintings to do. After all, you have to take into account many different factors. As mentioned, painting exterior walls changes the look of your home enormously. Do not underestimate this impact, especially if you choose a different color.
 
In addition, exterior walls are naturally exposed to all kinds of weather influences. In order to be able to deal with things like rain and hail year after year, it is important to choose a good type of paint that can withstand this.
 
In this article we will therefore take a closer look at painting exterior walls. Which paint do you choose? How do you handle it? Do you need a permit? We try to answer all questions that arise in this article.
Which paint for exterior walls?Let's start with an important question. Which paint do you choose for painting exterior walls? As mentioned in the introduction, an exterior wall paint must be weather resistant. In other words, it must be able to cope with moisture and UV rays.
 
That is why acrylic paint is often chosen when painting exterior walls. Acrylic paint stops moisture from outside, such as rain. In other words, acrylic paint will give your exterior walls a kind of protective layer against rain. Moreover, it is a vapor permeable paint, which means that the moisture from the inside does escape through the wall. This is important to avoid moisture problems in your walls.
 
Other advantages of acrylic paint are that it is resistant to UV radiation and that it has a fairly short drying time.
 
Acrylic paint is generally the most commonly used type of paint for painting exterior walls, but there are also a few alternatives. For example, you can also opt for alkyd paint, a synthetic and water-repellent type of paint. Alkyd paint is quite thick in nature, so it is often thinned with white spirit. Alkyd paint also dries fairly quickly, usually within 24 hours.
 
You can also opt for acrylic latex. This type of paint is less porous than regular latex paint. The disadvantage is that you need special paint brushes and paint rollers for this type of paint. As a result, the total cost may be slightly higher.
Which color?In addition to the type of paint, you should of course also consider the color of paint that you are going to use. Although of course you don't have as many options here as when painting interior walls, for example. When painting exterior walls, you have to take things like the environment and legislation into account.
 
First of all, choose a color that matches the environment. Quite neutral colors are often chosen, such as white, brown or gray.
 
In addition, it is also important to check whether you are allowed to do your thing under the law. When it comes to exterior walls at the front of your home, you usually need a permit to paint your walls. Exterior walls on the side or the back of your home usually do not require a permit.
Painting exterior walls: step-by-step planFor painting your exterior walls, you largely follow the same steps as for most other paintings. This way you start with good preparation, a phase that should not be underestimated. In some cases, this is followed by the application of a primer. Finally, you finish by applying several finishing coats.
 
Let's go over all the steps.
STEP 1: the preparationGood preparation is the basis for any type of painting. If you are nonchalant about this, the quality of your painting will be correspondingly, and there is a good chance that you can start all over again in no time. So it is important to properly prepare.
 
You can only start painting an outside wall when this tip-top is in order. In concrete terms, this means that the outer wall must not be damaged and that it must be neatly cleaned. If not, the paint you are applying will not adhere well to the wall, and it will peel back in no time.
 
So you start with repairing the wall. If you want to paint a seasoned exterior wall, there is a good chance that this wall already shows some damage here and there. Cracks or fissures are classics, and crumbling joints are also common symptoms of exterior walls that have already withstood some winters.
 
Before you can start painting an exterior wall, you must first repair all this damage. Crumbling joints must be re-joined, and cracks in the wall must be filled with waterproof mortar. Let everything dry thoroughly before you start the sufficient step: cleaning the wall.
 
Cleaning the wall is the next step in the preparation process. When your wall is covered with dust or moss, the paint you apply to the wall will have a hard time adhering. It is therefore important to only start painting on a clean and dry wall.
 
If the outer wall is not too dirty, you can clean it with water or a damp cloth and soft brush. You can use a high-pressure cleaner for a dirty exterior wall, although you must of course be careful not to damage the joints and freshly applied mortar.
 
Before you start painting the wall, let the wall dry thoroughly.
STEP 2: Apply primerApplying a primer is not something that should be done on a regular basis. Apply a primer or primer in the first place to ensure that your finishing layer adheres well to the wall. But if your exterior wall has been painted in the recent past, you no longer need to apply a new primer.
 
Priming should be done especially if you have a brick wall that has not received a coat of paint in the past. The primer that you will have to apply in that case will then serve to allow the paint layer that you apply later to adhere well.
 
It is important to choose the right kind of primer. Of course you choose a primer that is specifically aimed for use in outdoor applications. This type of primer is resistant to moisture, in other words does not allow moisture from rain or hail to penetrate the wall. Exterior primers are also usually vapor-permeable, which means that they still allow moisture in the wall to escape to the outside. In other words, they let the wall 'breathe'.
STEP 3: Apply finishing coatAfter you have applied the primer, it is important to let it dry thoroughly. When the wall is completely dry, you can start applying a first finishing layer.
 
To apply a finishing layer, it is best to use a long-haired paint roller. Long-haired paint rollers can handle unevenness in the wall more easily. If there are still spots on the wall that you have not been able to reach with your paint roller, you can use a regular brush for these spots.
 
It is important to choose the right time to paint. Weather factors have a major influence on the result of your outdoor painting work. For example, if it is too hot, your paint layer will dry too quickly, causing it to show cracks. Too much wind will also cause your paint layer to dry too quickly.
 
Too cold weather is also not good, because then you get the opposite effect. The ideal temperature for painting outside is between 10° and 20° Celsius, preferably on a windless day without too much sun.
Remember:The ideal temperature for painting outside is between 10° and 20° Celsius, preferably on a windless day without too much sun.
Price for painting exterior walls:Painting exterior walls requires a little more skill than any other painting. Not only can your result be admired (or broken down) by everyone, you also have to work at heights, which entails some danger.
 
It is precisely for this reason that the help of a professional painter is often called in specifically for outdoor painting. Such a painter may cost a little more money, but you do have the guarantee of a nice result, without having to go through breakneck feats.
 
The total cost of having your exterior walls painted therefore mainly depends on the surface to be painted. But there are also big differences in the hourly wages of different painters. That is why it is interesting to request quotes from different painters, and to compare prices.
 
Are you searching for a good painting contractor in Los Angeles? Don't look any further! Providing both interior and exterior painting services, we have become the most reputable Painting Contractor Los Angeles to date. Painting both homes and businesses is one of our company's specialties.