Exterior house painting in Portland and the Northwest is done in the most challenging climate for paints that there is in the United States.  Although we don’t have the prolonged cold of the northeast and the Midwest, we have enough times of deep cold to make the freeze/thaw cycle a factor.  What sets us apart, of course, is the many months of prolonged moisture.

Mildew and moss can wreak havoc with your paint job.  The answer is a thorough cleaning when pressure washing and the use of a mildew killing agent.  Exterior paints contain a mildewcide but its often not sufficient.  The painters at Cascade Painting and Restoration recommend adding more to your paint, particularly for the houses that are prone to mildewing.

Another additive that helps homeowners is to add an insecticide to the paint when house painting. We often mix it into a little paint and apply it around problem areas like porch lights that collect spider webs. It seems to work for a couple of years at least.

Top quality paint is very important.  After 30 years as painters in Portland , we’re sold on Sherwin Williams exterior paints, particularly their Superpaint and Duration lines.  The cost of paint is a pretty small percentage of the cost of painting houses, since most of the cost is in the labor. It pays to pay a little more per gallon to get great paint vs just good paint.

Proper preparation is a must, of course, with any loose paint removed, and the areas properly prepped and primed, and all exposed cracks filled with a high grade of caulk.

Top coating means 2 good coats of paint, properly applied to achieve the appropriate thickness of paint.  A very important part of the painting process that is often neglected, is to make double sure the most vulnerable parts of the house are well prepped and painted.  Such as, the bottoms of the siding boards, particularly that of the very bottom boards next to the foundation and the boards on exposed chimney chases.  Trim boards are the most exposed painted parts of a building, so we recommend spending a little more to buy the very best quality trim paint.

House painting isn’t rocket science, but it takes skill, knowledge and conscientiousness to do it right.  Call the expert painters at Cascade Painting and Restoration for your next exterior or interior house painting project.

Here is a good article on how to choose a painting contractor from consumer Reports.

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