Powerwashing to Extend a Paint Job
If you’ve ever researched professional painting companies before, chances are you’ve come across the term “power-washing”. But what is it, and how do you use power-washing to extend a paint job?
Power-washing, or pressure washing, is defined as using machine, wand and water to spray surfaces with high pressured water and sometimes chemicals to clean a certain area. As a professional painter, I know power-washing is an imperative first step when preparing any surface that will be painted or stained. Without a proper cleaning, dirt, chalk and loose particles of paint can flake off underneath the new coat of paint, taking it with it. Which means your brand new paint job will be nothing but wasted effort.
Power-washing cleans and prepares the surface to be painted by removing dirt, mildew, mold, pollutants, pollen and dust. It also removes cobwebs and wasp nests that have built up under eaves and in corners. Depending on the quality of paint currently on the house, power-washing may also remove paint chips in the process.
While the purpose of power-washing is to clean the surface, in some cases not all stains will be removed. Some stains are actually discolorations from years of weathering, and will not disappear with a simple power-wash. Power-washing will clean the surface; two coats of paint will cover up the discoloration and create a fresh new look for the surface.
Power-washing isn’t as simple as spraying the garden hose over the surface of your home. Instead, it’s a specialized stream of water coming from a proper nozzle size at an appropriate angle. Different locations need different treatment. Spray with too hard of a stream or too much pressure and you’ll end up with wand marks, or etching of the surface. If the spray isn’t powerful enough, it will have little effect on the surface of your home. Meaning it won’t clean the surface as much as needed, putting your new paint at risk of not adhering in a proper way.
A great Denver paint job will use power-washing to extend a paint job. It allows the fresh paint to penetrate into the wood surface, bonding to provide a clean, smooth line. Without power-washing, other materials may get in the way – paint chips, dirt molecules, debris, even mold and mildew. Even with the fresh coat of paint, these extraneous items will continue to deteriorate underneath the paint. And as time goes by, the problem begins to fester and get worse. Cutting your new paint job’s longevity down considerably.
Want the best paint job possible? Don’t put your entire focus on the paint. There’s just as much importance as to what’s under the paint as to the final color you choose. Work with a reputable painting contractor and your home will look great for a long time to come.