Pressure Washing

Top 5 Reasons Your Commercial Painter Should Pressure Wash & Thouroughly Prep Before Painting

If you’re hiring a painting contractor in Milwaukee, make sure to hire a commercial painter that takes the time to completely prep you commercial building before they paint. One surefire way to ensure you’re getting the best possible restoring, preventive paint job on your commercial building that will not only look excellent, but will also withstand harsh conditions, aging and inclement weather—is to make sure your contractor preps the building thoroughly. Though this would seem intuitive to the average building owner hiring the painters, the truth is that few industrial painters in Milwaukee actually spend the time to adequately prep before they paint.

The reason is because the prep is the majority of labor and time on any job. The more run down the building, the more prep. Many contractors find that by cutting down on the time and labor it costs to prep the building—they can actually finish the job and collect more money from the bid. If you’re looking for a painting contractor in Milwaukee that’ll paint your commercial building right, then they’ll take adequate time to fully prep the building before they paint. To learn more about what you should make sure your contractor will provide when prepping and painting your building—check out the top 5 prep tips that every commercial painter should use below:

  1. A clean surface is essential for a good paint job. A pressure washer with the proper detergent is the most efficient means of thoroughly cleaning exterior siding. Generally, Trisodium phosphate (TSP) is the best possible detergent to use. The goal of pressure washing is to remove all loose paint, mildew and molds that have accumulated on the surface. In addition, pressure washing serves to remove dirt and clean the surface in order to apply paint. When done properly, pressure washing serves as the principal foundation for subsequent surface prep; however, if the contractor pressure washing your house is inexperienced—know that it can cause extensive damage.  Because of the high pressure, a pressure washer can easily damage the surfaces, siding, and woods if sprayed incorrectly or at too close of range.
  2. Following the pressure washing, the next step will be to scrape away loose paint. Using a wire brush, 5-in-1, or scraper—scrape paint that’s flaking or located in areas that the washer didn’t reach. Scraping to the bare wood is not necessary if the old paint is intact.
  3. After scrapping off all loose paint the next step should be sanding all areas where loose pain that been scraped off. You’ll want to generally use fine-grit sandpaper and feather loose areas. You’ll want to avoid sanding down bare wood so no indentations or dimples are made on the surface or siding.
  4. Repair any surface flaws with a surface with wood filler, joint compound, plaster or spackle depending on the surface. After filler dries you’ll want to hand sand followed by wiping down with a damp cloth to rid the surface of saw dust.  In addition to filling and sanding, you’ll also want to remove all old calk and re-calk all windows and surfaces needing it. You may also have to remove old window glazing and re-glaze.
  5. Lastly, you’ll want to spot prime the interior or exterior in any areas where there is bare wood or where repairs have been made.