When you look at your peeling siding or faded trim, you probably have many questions about getting it painted. Over the years running Richland Painting Company, our team has heard just about everything from homeowners across the Tri-Cities. We will tackle the most common questions head-on with some straight talk.
When is the actual best time of year to paint an exterior in Richland?
Here in the Mid-Columbia, we deal with intense summer heat and freezing winter dips. You want to aim for late spring or early fall when temperatures sit comfortably between 50 and 85 degrees. Painting in the dead of July when the sun is baking your walls at 100 degrees causes the paint to dry too fast. That leads to blistering and brush marks. Richland Painting Company looks for those sweet-spot weather windows so the product cures the way the manufacturer intended.
How long should a good exterior paint job last around here?
On a typical Richland home with decent prep work and quality acrylic paint, you can expect 7 to 10 years of protection. But keep in mind that homes facing south or west take a brutal beating from our relentless desert sun and windblown dust. Those sides usually show wear and fading a couple of years sooner than the north or east sides. If a contractor promises your paint will last 20 years in this climate, they are selling you a fairy tale.
Do you really need to power wash every house first?
Yes, absolutely. Skipping the wash is the number one reason paint fails early. Richland gets plenty of wind, dust, and microscopic pollen that forms an invisible layer over your siding. If you paint right over that film, the new coat has nothing to grip. Richland Painting Company pressure washes every exterior beforehand, but we dial back the pressure on older wood or delicate composite surfaces so we do not chew up the material.
What about prep work? What does that actually include?
Prep is eighty percent of the job, and it is where cheap contractors cut corners. For us, a proper prep routine means scraping away all loose and flaking paint, sanding down rough edges, priming bare wood spots, and replacing old, cracked caulking around windows and trim. If you do not seal up those gaps, moisture gets behind the boards during our occasional winter rain storms and ruins your new paint from the inside out.
Can you paint over faded aluminum or vinyl siding?
You can paint over faded aluminum or vinyl siding, and it is a great way to update an older home in neighborhoods like the Richland Y or central areas without replacing all the siding. However, you have to use specific bonding primers and acrylic paints formulated to handle the thermal expansion of metal and vinyl. If you use the wrong dark color on vinyl, the panels can warp from absorbing too much heat. Richland Painting Company always helps pick colors that stay within safe LRV (Light Reflectance Value) limits.
How do I know if my siding is too rotted to paint?
If you press a screwdriver into the wood and it sinks in or feels spongy, that is rot, and Exterior Painting will not fix it. Surface peeling is fine for paint to handle, but structural decay needs to be cut out and replaced before we touch a brush. We can handle minor board swaps, but if there is extensive damage, Richland Painting Company will let you know upfront so you are not wasting money painting rotten wood.