Here’s why we pressure wash before painting

Here at Crash of Rhinos Painting, we pressure wash homes before we paint them. It’s part of our painting prep work, and there’s a very specific reason we do it: quality. Simply put: pressure washing before painting leads to better, long-lasting paint.

Does your contractor pressure wash?

As you talk to other exterior painters about their process, ask them about pressure washing. Some painters—in an effort to get the job done faster—like to skip steps, taking advantage of their customers not knowing any better.

After all, pressure washing adds time to a project—time that, in their mind, would be better spent moving onto to the next paying project.

Related: How To Tell If Your Paint Job Is Bad

However, as we’ll explain in this article, pressure washing before painting is essential. Without cleaning the home’s exterior, you’re almost guaranteed subpar results. At Crash of Rhinos, we’re all about great-looking paint and great-looking homes. It’s why we thoroughly pressure wash early on in our process!

Mike explains why pressure washing matters

In this video, Mike explains why pressure washing is so important to the painting process:

Why do our painters pressure wash?

Here’s what our painters are working to remove when they pressure wash your home:

Removing dirt and pollutants

All paint—even exterior paint—requires a clean canvas. Your home’s exterior is far from it. Summer monsoons bring dust into the Valley, which coats the stucco. So do air pollutants, smoke residue, and other contaminants.

By pressure washing before painting, we’re clearing away all the gunk that might otherwise prevent our paint from properly adhering to the wall’s surface.

Clearing off chalking

Of course, your walls have more than just dirt and dust on them. They also have aging paint—that’s probably the reason why you’ve called us in the first place! As exterior paint deteriorates, it often creates a chalky, powdery substance that we, appropriately enough, refer to as “chalking.”

Chalking is a natural process for exterior paint, but chalking deposits must be removed before new paint is applied. Our pressure wash helps clear off any chalking before we paint.

Eliminating paint residue

Chalking isn’t the only thing left behind by UV-damaged, aging paint. Your stucco’s surface may have flaking or chipping paint, which poses similar problems.

Washing down the walls removes all this leftover residue, ensuring our painters have a clean and clear surface to work with when they paint.

How do you pressure wash?

Our team handles pressure washing the right way. Here’s our approach:

The right equipment

At Crash of Rhinos, we have professional pressure-washing equipment that we’ll bring out onto the job site once we reach this stage of the process. Our team knows how to properly operate the pressure-washer.

As previously stated, we’ll take the time to prepare your property for pressure washing. This includes protecting nearby plants, surfaces that don’t need to be pressure washed—like any sheetrock—or other areas where we don’t want any water.

Our pressure washing uses a fan nozzle, which evenly distributes the water and is conducive to washing off dirt and debris.

The right pressure

Our pressure washing tools are set up in such a way to apply the right amount of pressure to the stucco surface. Too little pressure, and the wash may not remove everything it needs to. Too much, and it could actually damage the stucco.

By zeroing in on the correct pressure that needs to be applied, we ensure the surface is cleaned, but otherwise unchanged, by this process.

The right angles

Our painters are pressure-washing professionals. As such, they know how to properly operate pressure-washing equipment and safely wash your home’s exterior. This can come down to angles.

One of the mistakes homeowners make when trying to pressure wash their own home is spraying at dangerous angles that lead to water getting behind the stucco or into attic weep holes. For obvious reasons, we work to avoid this!

After we pressure wash

Once we have the entire exterior washed, we’ll let the surface dry—typically not a challenge here in Phoenix! Our team then moves onto the next step in our painting prep process: stucco repair.

Why do we do stucco repair after pressure washing? Well, for one, the removal of dirt and pollutants helps us better see the condition of the stucco surface, which is necessary for finding—and then fixing—cracks, woodpecker holes, and other defects.

As we fix these cracks and holes, it helps to have a clean surface to work with. Finally, since we only have a few more steps prior to painting, we’ll be in a good position moving forward.

Start with a free digital proposal

Ready to have our team repaint your home? Start by getting a free digital proposal from us! Our contactless proposal process is simple, easy, and stress-free.

At the end, we’ll send you a comprehensive digital proposal that contains our quote, along with everything you need to know about our team, our paint, our process, and our warranties.

For Phoenix homeowners who are looking to paint their homes in the next few months, it’s the best place to start! Click the button below and fill out the form to request your free proposal from us.