Painting the outside of a home is much more difficult than painting the interior. This is partly because there is more surface area to cover, but also because much of the wall is harder to reach and it has a rougher texture. You also have to battle the elements (wind and rain), which can be inconvenient to say the least. To speed up painting your exterior walls, you should rent a pneumatic spray gun and air compressor. This will allow you to get more ample coverage in a shorter amount of time. However, it does require more strenuous masking off. This article explains how to properly mask off your exterior if you are going to paint with a spray gun.

Covering the Trim, Doors and Windows

You can actually dramatically speed up the painting process if you paint your trim, doors and windows the same color as the rest of the walls. However, most people still prefer a two-tone look, so they usually paint their trim a darker color than the walls. You will need a lot of painter's tape to tape off the edges, but you'll also want to invest in in painter's plastic. This comes in large sheets that are easy to spread out and cut. You should definitely fully mask off entire door and window fixtures. You can even wrap the plastic around your trim and roof line to prevent overspray from getting onto your roofing material. The plastic is also useful for covering things along the side of your house, like the air conditioner or foundation plants.

Covering the Ground

You want to use the painter's plastic to cover most of your exterior, but you don't want to use it on the ground. The plastic is simply too dangerous to walk on. Instead, invest in a couple large rules of construction paper and line your walkways and the perimeter of your walls. Construction paper is also useful because it absorbs the paint that is bound to drip down from overspray. You won't be spreading this paint all around as you walk around the perimeter of your walks.

When it comes to masking off your exterior, it is best to be as thorough as possible. The more masking off you do, the faster the spraying will actually go. You will also have much less clean up in the end if you use these products to mask off. To learn more, contact a company like American Permacoat.