How to paint the exterior of an old house: What you need to know

As the years go by, your home’s exterior, exposed to nature, will start to age and it’ll eventually lose its original charm—but this doesn’t mean you can’t salvage it.

You can bring life back to your old home with a new paint job; keep in mind though that older homes could have a few exterior problems that will need your attention before you start painting.

Learning how to paint the exterior of an old house may sound a bit complicated but with the correct steps, you’ll have your old home looking as good as the day you moved into it!

Here’s what you need to do:

Remove the old paint

If you want to give your old home a new paint job, you’ll need to say goodbye to your old one.

Your home’s old paint might not be an ideal surface for the new paint to stick to so you’ll need to sand it off. Sanding will remove the old paint while giving you a smooth new surface to paint on.

Using a sander, start removing your home’s old paint job, taking care not to damage the wall. 

While sanding, make sure to wear a respirator and a pair of goggles for safety.

Before moving on to the next step, check if there are any stubborn patches of paint still clinging onto your walls; use a chemical stripper or sandpaper to wipe them away.

Also, don’t forget to remove any loose caulk. You’ll want to replace this later on in your paint job.

Damage control

After many years of being exposed to San Diego’s weather, your home’s exterior might be showing some wear and tear.

Water damage, cracked walls, and rotten wood are common kinds of damage you can expect to see in an old home and they will need to be taken care of before you start painting.

First, wash your home’s exterior wall, preferably with a pressure washer at about 2500 psi, working your way from top to bottom to remove any grime, dirt, or loose paint on the walls.

Once your walls are dry, look for damages and fix them.

Cracked walls

Use a putty knife to remove debris from inside the crack; then, using a caulk gun, fill up the crack.

Once the caulk has dried, use some sandpaper to smoothen out the caulk and wash the wall. Once the wall’s dry, apply primer onto the fixed crack.

Rotten wood

Rotted wood usually needs to be removed, but can be fixed if the damage is not too bad.

With a putty knife, scrape out the rotted bits of wood from the walls and then fill in the holes with paintable wood filler. 

Once the filler is dry, sand the filler in the direction of the wood grain for a smooth finish.

If the rot covers a large area, chisel away the rotted wood and apply a wood hardener to strengthen the wall. 

After the hardener dries, fill the space left behind from the rotted wood with epoxy wood filler and smooth out the surface using sandpaper after the filler dries.

Moisture damage

Moisture-damaged walls can be painted over but the water seeping in may eventually damage the paint, so it’s best to patch the wall up.

Sandpaper the affected area to remove any bubbling and cover it with some sealer binder to prevent water from seeping into the wall again. After the binder has dried, apply some filler.

Once any damages you find are dealt with, it’s time for the last step!

Primer time

Now that your exterior wall is cleaned and repaired, it’s time to apply the primer.

Sometimes exterior wall paints will not bond properly with wooden walls—this is where primers come in.

Primers help the paint bond with the walls so that it won’t start peeling off after the paint job. Usually, you might only need to prime just a few spots of your home’s exterior where paint is more likely to peel.

However, if more than half of your home’s exterior has peeling paint, it’s best if you prime the whole house.

Now you know how to paint the exterior of an old house—it’s time for a makeover!

Your home deserves a makeover when it ages beyond its prime and this can be done with just a simple paint job. 

With this guide, you can give your old home a new paint job that’ll make it glow for years to come!

Good luck!