Summer Painting Tips

Summer is one of the best times to refresh the exterior of your home by adding a new coat of paint. It’s dry for longer periods of time, the sun helps to dry the paint more quickly and you have extended time frames where inclement weather won’t prevent you from working. Even so, there are some tips that will make summer painting more worthwhile and help to get more bang for your painting buck.

• The paint you are using will be exposed to the sun and heat throughout the painting process. When paint is open for any length of time the liquid within will begin to evaporate and the paint will feel thicker and be less likely to apply smoothly. As a result, you will probably need to ‘reconstitute’ the paint to keep it fluid. This means adding water to the paint itself. The formula is about 10% of the paint volume to keep it viable. When reconstituting it is also better to do this in ‘batches’ or smaller amounts of paint than putting the water directly into the gallon paint cans. The latter may cause your paint to become too watered down over time. Fortunately, there are products on the market that take the guesswork out of reconstituting.
• We cannot remind you often enough that the outcome will only be as good as the surface the paint is applied to. In other words, prep your surfaces in advance. Take the time to scrape off peeling paint, repair holes in the siding or wood, and wash down the exterior – giving it plenty of time to dry before applying that first coat of paint.
• Layer ice in your paint trays to help prevent evaporation when you are painting. Put a layer of ice in the bottom of the tray and then cover it with a disposable liner before pouring in the paint!
• Paint in the earlier hours of the day – after the dew is gone but before the sun is beating down!

If you need more advice or are looking for a paint company to complete your job, contact the professionals at University Painters, Inc.