Most of the job happens before the paint
Ask an experienced painter where a paint job succeeds or fails and you'll hear the same answer: in the preparation. Color goes on in a day or two. Washing, scraping, sanding, filling, caulking and priming can take longer, and they're what hold the color on. This page walks through those steps for a house in Lawrence and covers two pieces of public information that touch them.
Washing and rinsing
Exterior surfaces collect dirt, pollen, chalk from old paint and mildew. Paint put over any of those sticks to the contamination instead of the surface. Painters usually wash with a cleaner and then rinse, by garden hose, by low-pressure washer or by hand.
The rinse uses whatever water comes out of the tap. The city's 2026 Consumer Confidence Report lists total hardness (as CaCO3) with a highest value of 158 ppm and a range of 84 to 158 ppm. Those are drinking-water figures, and the report doesn't speak to painting. What a painter will tell you is general: any cleaner or residue left on a surface can weaken adhesion, so a thorough rinse and full drying time matter more than the strength of the wash. Ask how they rinse and how long they let the surface dry before priming.
Pressure, and too much of it
High-pressure washing can drive water deep into wood, lift the grain, gouge soft boards and force water behind siding. Many painters prefer lower pressure and a longer dwell time for the cleaner. Ask what pressure and tips they'll use, and how they'll keep water out of windows, vents and electrical fixtures.
Scraping and sanding
After washing and drying, loose paint is scraped off back to a firm edge. The edges are then sanded so the step between bare wood and old paint doesn't show through the new coat. Glossy surfaces, inside or out, are scuffed so the next coat can grip. Our guide to drywall repair and surface preparation covers the interior side of this work.
The federal rule on older paint
Scraping and sanding are exactly the work that disturbs old paint. Under the federal lead Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, since April 22, 2010 firms doing renovation, repair and painting work that disturbs lead-based paint in homes built before 1978 must hold EPA or state certification and follow specific work practices. EPA runs the RRP program in states it has not authorized; Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin run their own EPA-authorized programs.
If your house was built before 1978, ask the painter to describe the work practices they'll follow: plastic sheeting on the ground or floor, misting, containment, cleanup and disposal. You may ask whether the firm holds RRP certification.
Filling, caulking and priming
- Holes and dents are filled, sanded flat and spot-primed.
- Joints between trim and siding, or trim and wall, are caulked with a paintable product.
- Bare wood gets a primer suited to it; some woods bleed stains and need a stain-blocking primer.
- Repairs and patches are primed so the finish coat looks even.
How preparation shows up in a proposal
Preparation is labor, and labor is most of a painting price. Two proposals for the same house can differ mainly in how much preparation they include. Ask each painter to describe their washing, scraping, sanding and priming in writing. Our pricing guide explains how those lines add up, and our exterior painting page shows the full sequence.
Your preparation checklist
- How will the house be washed, and at what pressure?
- How long will surfaces dry before priming?
- How will you decide which paint is loose?
- What work practices apply if the house was built before 1978?
- Which primer goes on bare wood, stains and patches?