How To Safely Strip Paint From Your Sidings With Pressure Washing

If you're looking to your home's peeling, flaky old paint with a fresh new coat, pressure washing can make that process a little bit easier! If done right, pressure washing can effectively strip old paint off of your home and prep it for new paint. Like any pressure washing project, however, it's important to go about it carefully to avoid unintended damage to your property. Here's how you can successfully use pressure washing to strip old paint from your sidings without hurting your house!

Be Prepared For The Job!

You're facing a big project, so it's important to get everything prepped ahead of time so everything goes smoothly once you start. If you're cleaning around windows and doors, you have to take caution not to damage them or force pressurized water into the cracks. Cover door jams and the bottoms of your windows to ensure that errant water doesn't end up where it's not wanted. Dress for the part, too- use safety goggles to protect your eyes from paint chips and other debris and wear appropriate work boots and jeans. You might want to pop on some headphones to protect your ears, too- it can get loud.

Know What Surface You're Washing

Now we get down to the nitty-gritty: figuring out how to clean the paint off your home's particular surfaces without damaging the structure underneath. Some surfaces, like vinyl and aluminum siding, can easily withstand high-pressure washing, while wood or stucco may need to be treated more cautiously. It ultimately comes down to not just the material of the surface itself but the condition it's in as well. The rule of thumb is you need a bare minimum of 2000 PSI to strip paint, so if your surface can't handle pressure washing that high, it's time to find a paint removal alternative. Do your research ahead of time to know which pressure setting and nozzle type are safe to use on the intended surface, or consult a professional pressure washer for help.

Get The Paint Ready For Removal

Before you start blasting with the pressure washer, you need to prep the surface a little bit. Rinse off any excess dirt and grime from the area, and use a scraper to get rid of as much excess paint as you can. Once that's done, apply a paint stripper to the surface, and give it about 20-30 minutes to set in. Once the paint is lifting and softened up, it's ready.

Get To Work!

Now that the area is prepped, it's time to get started! It's best to start with the lowest setting that you believe is necessary to strip the paint from the surface, only increasing the pressure as needed. That way you can avoid accidental damage by going in too hard at the start. For that same reason, you should keep the nozzle at least 18 inches from the surface at the start, moving in closer only when necessary. Test the pressure washer on a small area first to make sure your water pressure and distance are good. Once you feel confident that you're set, you can start washing off that paint. Make sure to move against the grain of the surface when cleaning vinyl or wood!

You may have a little bit of paint left over at the end, and that's ok! The point is to remove any peeling or chipped paint that would prevent a new coat from sticking to your house. As long as no peeling areas are remaining, your job is done. If needed, the remainder can be sanded down before moving forward with the application of the new paint.

Achieving the right balance of force and precision is important when using a tool as powerful as a pressure washer, and it can be intimidating for untrained users, especially with such a big project as removing old paint ahead of a new paint job.

If you're concerned about not being able to safely remove old paint from your home, reach out to Thomas Pressure Washing today.House washing is one of our specialties! We also do graffiti removal, so if you're plagued by painted graffiti that won't seem to come off, let us help you.