Choosing exterior paint for your project in Eugene can be a bit tricky, especially if you’re not familiar with the paint finishes and colors.
There are generally four types of paint finishes; matte, satin, semi-gloss, and gloss and each has pros and cons.
When painting the exterior of your home, the choice is usually a little limited, as gloss and semi-gloss paints are rarely used on the outside. The choice is usually between a matte or satin finish. Since the outside of your house is subject to wear and tear, the choice of the finish is very important.
Understand Paint Sheen/Finish
Paints with a high content of resins/binders create a high gloss/shiny surface, while those with a high pigment content create a less reflective surface.
In general, brighter paints are more durable, while duller paints are less durable but offer better coverage.
For larger exterior surfaces, glossier paints are usually reserved for finishing areas, such as window sills and doors, as well as surfaces that can be washed frequently.
For large surfaces such as the siding, less glossy paints are a better choice. Here, you want to avoid bright, glowing paints with highly reflective properties that will highlight every bump and imperfection.
Matte Paints Outside
Matte paint has an anti-reflective finish that will be slightly chalky and rough when you put your hand on it.
The finish is quite velvety in appearance and is at first very attractive since the lack of reflectivity hides bumps and cracks. It offers a very contemporary and modern look.
However, as with interior surfaces, matte paints don’t tolerate repeated washing and scrubbing. You can rub the matte finish with TSP or a high-pressure water cleaner, but often the best solution is to apply another coat of paint.
You can expect to repaint more often if you use flat paint.
Satin Paints Outside
Satin finishes are relatively low in reflection, which means they also do a decent job of masking dents and imperfections on the surface.
To the touch, they retain the chalky appearance of matte finishes, but with a slight, creamy finish.
The same paint color will appear slightly richer in a satin sheen than in a matte sheen. Satin finishes can be wiped or even cleaned with water.
Semi-Gloss and Gloss?
In general, reserve higher gloss levels for trims and doors, which wear out a lot and may require frequent rubbing.
The brightest paints are more durable, and they will hold well on these weathered finish surfaces.
They can also be a logical choice when an exterior needs to be washed frequently, for example, in a climate where windblown dust is a problem, or in a home where active children can dirty the siding.
But the glossy appearance will also highlight every bump and imperfection so that for most people, they are not the right choice for large siding surfaces.
Glossy and semi-gloss paints, however, produce a more vibrant color, which is why they are sometimes chosen when a homeowner wants to put more emphasis on design.
Recommendations
In all respects, the satin finish is best for the exterior of a home. It satisfies the essential maintenance points while providing a pleasing appearance that appeals to most homeowners. Ultimately, the choice depends on your situation.
At Sir Paints A Lot, we offer affordable, high-quality, and durable residential painting services that will stand the test of time. If you need professional help repainting your home exterior in Eugene, our team can help.
To give a try, call us on 541-600-2025 or book now for a FREE painting estimate.
You’ve decided to hire a professional painting contractor in Eugene. What should you do next?!
If it is your first time hiring a painting contractor, the whole process can be a little intimidating.
Repainting your home is a significant investment towards, probably one of your largest investments, so far. Hiring the wrong painting contractor can leave you frustrated to say the least, but the safety of your family should also be considered.
In this article, we
will quickly take you through the process of hiring a painting contractor and
an overview of what you can expect. Have a look.
How to Find a Painting
Contractor in Eugene
Painting companies are generally active locally, and you have probably seen some of them working on projects in your Eugene or Springfield neighborhood. While most of them focus on painting, some take on extra related tasks such as plaster repair, minor drywall repair, cladding, and wallpapering.
You will essentially need to pick a painter based in your specific painting needs. Don’t be tempted to choose the first one that you come across. Some of the best ways to find painting contractors include asking friends, relatives, and neighbors, asking at your local paint store or searching online for local painting contractors.
Be sure to choose at least three painters, invite them for an interview and request a painting estimate from each of them. It is best if you schedule each of them separately.
What Will The Painter
Do?
Most painters take on any kind of work, from the mere painting of your window covering to a full residential paint job. Let’s assume that you want them to paint your home interior. You can usually expect:
Cover all areas that are not to be painted, including floors, windows, kitchen counter-tops, cabinets, etc.
Slight surface preparation; this may include light sanding and scraping off loose paint, filling holes left from old nails, caulking, cleaning woodwork, and wiping off surfaces. The contractor assumes that the house is usually in paintable condition.
Remove electrical panels, lights, doors, and other obstacles.
Moving furniture away for better access to the areas to be painted. That is not really a painter’s job, so you have to confirm that beforehand if you want them to move furniture for you.
Priming new drywall or the current paint with an interior latex primer.
Apply two coats of latex paint on the walls.
Two layers of ceiling paint.
Painting of the trim (baseboards, window coverings, doors etc; all depending on what you requested)
Touch-up missing spots.
Cleanups for any spills and splashes.
How to Talk To the Painter
Unlike a conversation
with an electrician, talking to the painter is generally easy and doesn’t
involve any jargon. They keep things as clear and simple as possible.
Some topics you may want to discuss:
Is the cost of the paint included in the estimate?
What type/quality of paint does the contractor intend to use?
How many coats will be used?
How does he intend to cover the non-paint-able areas?
How long does he expect the job to last?
Is it preferable for the residents to clear the house while working?
Will the painter clean up after painting is done?
How Much Will It Cost?
If this is the first time you have hired a contractor, painting might cost a little more than you expect. Some painting companies will have formulas that they use. This typically includes measuring total square feet of walls and ceilings, along with linear lengths of the trim. They also calculate the preparation time as well as the “hard costs” for primer and paint.
Some contractors will give you a quote based on their experience with similar jobs. While this estimate may not be specific, it is usually a fair number. The best way to get value for your money is by comparing multiple painting quotes and picking a quote that meets all your needs. It is important to choose a contractor who communicates well with you and who you feel comfortable with. This will not necessarily be the lowest bid.
At Sir Paints A Lot, we offer affordable, reliable, high-quality, and durable residential painting services such as trim painting, wall and ceiling painting, door and frame painting, and cabinet refinishing that will stand the test of time. If you haven’t identified a residential painting contractor in Eugene yet, we would love to be your favorite painter. To give a try, call us on 541-600-2025 or book now for a FREE painting estimate.
While there are many improvements you can make on your home, nothing quite compares to the benefits offered by an exterior paint job. Exterior painting in Eugene is an inexpensive and transformative way to improve your home. It not only upgrades the appearance of your home but also protects it against the elements.
If you’re considering repainting your home’s exterior, but you’re not sure if the investment is worth it, here are the top five benefits of exterior painting to help you make up your mind.
1. Improves Aesthetic Appeal
As a homeowner, keeping your home painted makes it appealing. It is also an opportunity to choose your favorite color for the exterior if you don’t like the current one. Even if you’re in love with your current color scheme, exterior paint often needs to be re-applied after a few years because it eventually fades, flakes and peels.
An aesthetically appealing home is a natural source of pride for any homeowner and their family. Additionally, the appearance and status of your home impact the overall home value of your neighborhood or street, so repainting is also a neighborly thing to do.
2. Better Curb Appeal
Repainting your home is the quickest and easiest way to improve its curb appeal. It will give your home a fresh new look and cover any signs of weather damage and aging. If you’re planning to sell your home any time soon, a better curb appeal will not only help you to sell your home faster but also at a reasonably high price.
Curb appeal is all about setting the right tone when a prospective buyer sees your home for the first time. If they like the exterior when driving by, they’ll be far more likely to come in and check out the rest of the home, which increases your chances of getting a better price.
3. Protects Your Home from the Elements
Natural elements can be quite damaging to your house, and living in Eugene doesn’t make it any better. Wind, snow, rain sleet, and even fire are just a few of the elements that can wreak havoc to your siding. The best exterior paint job can stand up against these elements for a much longer time, keeping your siding protected.
Exterior paint is like an external shield coating for your home’s siding. It stops the dampness from leaking into your house and mold and mildew from damaging your siding. Essentially, it adds an extra layer of protection against the rainy and damp conditions, and could even stop bugs from invading through the siding.
4. Extends the Lifespan of Your Existing Siding
A new paint job can help increase the lifespan of your siding, despite which material is used. Many types of exterior sidings, such as concrete and wood, need to be replaced to maintain their good looks and protection properties. If repainting your exterior can extend the life of your siding even for just a few years, you can end up saving even thousands of dollars in future expenses.
Additionally, brand-new paint can hide or briefly repair minor damages that your old siding has endured. Minor siding imperfections can be covered by paint. You can also use this opportunity to repair major damages such as missing caulking, rotted wood, or a stucco siding with missing patches. Note, however, that exterior painting is not a substitute for siding repair.
5. Increases Your Home’s Value
Making your home look beautiful and appealing has a direct financial benefit. When inspection and appraisal are being done on your home, a recent home repaint can significantly increase the final value. Other significantly expensive home renovations, such as a kitchen remodel offers just about 80% return on investment. That means a kitchen remodel worth $10,000 will increase your home’s value by an average of $8,000.
On the other hand, exterior painting can offer a return of up to140%. So if you spend $1,000 on house painting, you can expect your home’s value to increase by $1,400. This means you earn about $400 extra value on your paint job.
Bottom line
As you can see, repainting your home offers many more benefits than you might have imagined. Other than making it appealing, it protects your siding against elements and eventually increases your home’s value
If you need any professional help with the exterior or general residential painting in Eugene, our team at Sir Paints A Lot can help. Simply call us on 541-600-2025 or book now to get started.
Exterior painting is an effective way to protect your property against harsh exterior elements in Eugene, Oregon. It will also boost curb appeal and help you to avoid costly repairs down the line. If you’re planning to sell your property any time soon, adding a fresh coat of paint will instantly increase the value of your property.
So you know you need to paint your home more often, but how often? And how do you even tell it’s time to repaint your home? Well, use the following signs to know it’s time for a new paint job.
1. Paint Fading
Paint fading is the excessive lightening of the paint color. Fading often happens as a result of the effects of UV rays which break down the color pigments in the paint. Using low-quality paint that has a lower concentration of color pigments and binders can also cause premature paint fading. You don’t have to repaint at the earliest sign of color fading, but excessive fading often makes the exterior look unappealing and neglected.
2. Paint Peeling
Paint peeling occurs when the paint loses adhesion to the painted surface. Peeling could be a result of painting on a wet, dirty, or poorly prepped surface. Water seeping behind the paint film via fine cracks in the paint can also cause loss of adhesion. This is an advanced sign of paint failure, and you should report it to a painting contractor as soon as possible for correction to avoid further damage to your siding.
3. Paint Bubbling
Paint bubbling is another advanced sign of paint failure that occurs due to localized loss of paint adhesion. This can be caused by painting on a wet or damp surface, painting when there is high humidity or using low-quality paints. This paint failure is characterized by small- to medium-sized ‘blisters’ of raised paint film.
Small sections of blistering can be touched up by scraping off the damaged paint, sanding down edges, and applying a primer, followed by a coat of paint in the same color. Extensive bubbling, however, may warrant a new paint job. If there is any underlying issue –such as a leaking pipe – it should be addressed before a fresh coat of paint is applied.
4. Chalking
Chalking occurs when the paint is broken down into fine powdery particles that are often deposited on the surface of the wall. Low-quality paints that have low concentrations of chemical binders are partly to blame for chalking. You can identify excessive chalking by a line of powdery particles deposited along the base of the wall, and this is a clear sign that a new paint job is long overdue.
5. Mildew
Mildew is a type of fungi that typically grows on damp surfaces, including the exterior siding. Wet conditions on the siding can be caused by excessive rain, broken gutters, and downspouts, leaky plumbing, etc. To adequately eliminate the mildew menace, you first need to address any issues that are causing dampness.
Professionals usually treat the affected areas with either a bleach solution or a mildewcide before repainting the siding. Mildew can spread quickly if not well handled, so you should preferably only let a professional painting contractor handle the mildew situation.
The Bottom Line
If your home’s exterior is showing signs of paint failure such as fading, peeling, cracking, bubbling, or organic growth, it’s probably time for a new paint job. Additionally, if it’s been over five years since you last painted your home’s exterior, consider repainting.
If you need any professional help repainting your home’s exterior in Eugene, our team at Sir Paints A Lot can help. Call us on 541-600-2025 or book now to get started.
The ceiling is one of those tricky surfaces that no one enjoys painting. It’s awkwardly positioned and painting it can mean getting some of the paint in your face and enduring hours of arm and neck fatigue. And if you get it wrong, it can go really wrong, which is why in today’s post, we’re sharing common mistakes to avoid when painting your ceiling. Read on.
Painting It Last
If you’re painting your entire room or home interior, you will notice that the ceiling is the most difficult part, and this might tempt you to save it for last. When you paint the ceiling last, there is a high possibility you might drip some of the paint on the newly applied wall paint and ruin it. Painting it first means you can easily fix any paint drips on the wall as you paint it and you don’t have to do double work.
Skipping the Cleaning
Unless it has water stains, your ceiling is probably the cleanest looking surface in your room. However, once you set up a ladder and move closer, and even run your fingers on it, you may notice a thin, nearly invisible layer of dirt, dust and paint residue.
Painting directly on such a surface will reduce the paint and primer adhesion, and you won’t get a smooth, even and durable paint job. Before you commence with painting, clean the ceiling surface with a damp cloth and remove all the cobwebs.
Ignoring the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
As you can imagine, painting a ceiling can have lots of paint and dirt falling back into your face and all over your body. So before you start painting, wear some eye goggles, an apron, and a disposable painting head cap. If you’re bleaching out any water stains or handling some harsh chemicals, always wear appropriate gloves.
Forgetting Drop Cloths and the Masking Tape
The ceiling painting job is going to be messy, especially if it’s your first time repainting the ceiling –and there is no way to avoid it, except to prepare for it. To prevent paint drips and splatters from ruining your floor and items, move out all the small movable items from the room and cover anything that cannot be moved using drop cloths. Line a masking tape along the perimeter of the ceiling to prevent the ceiling paint from ruining the upper edges of your wall paint.
Skipping the Primer
The primer is meant to increase the paint’s adhesion to a surface and facilitate a smooth and even finish of the paint job. If you’re battling any issues with water stains or transitioning from a darker to lighter ceiling paint, the primer will help block off any stains or old paint color from bleeding through your new paint job. If your ceiling is directly below the roof, a bathroom, or a kitchen, the primer will help minimize water damage.
Failing to Apply Enough Paint to the Brush
Generally, too much paint on the brush can cause excessive dripping and lead to a messy working area. However, on the flip side, using too little paint on the brush and/or roller can leave bare spots and streaks and force you to repaint some areas that have poor coverage. Generously dab the brush into the paint and allow the excess paint drip off back into the can or tray before going for the strokes.
The Bottom Line
Painting a ceiling is not as complicated as you might imagine. But of course, this is not an exhaustive tutorial on how to paint a ceiling, rather, some quick pointers on the common mistakes to avoid.
If you need any professional help painting your walls or ceiling in Eugene, our team at Sir Paints A Lot can help. Simply call us at 541-600-2025 to get started.
