
How to Makeover a Home Exterior
Remodeling a home exterior is easy to Do-It-Yourself and save money versus hiring a contractor.
Overview
Hiring a professional to paint your home can be expensive. But the Wagner HEA Control Pro 170 Cart allows you to paint like a pro for a lot less.
Before & after
This worn out home had good cedar siding under all that mess. All it needed was a coat of paint to start bringing it back to life.

Move items from area to be sprayed
There are a number of steps before painting that are essential to the final look. Pull landscaping and other objects away from the area to be sprayed. The HEA Control Pro does an excellent job limiting overspray, but you need room to maneuver the sprayer.

Tape areas to protect from spray
Tape off all windows, doors, and anything else you don’t want to spray. It is okay to leave the trim uncovered as you will paint that after the main body of the house.

Cover walkways and remove flaking paint
Also be sure to cover any walkways or other areas. Finally, be sure that the house exterior doesn’t have any flaking paint, dirt, or other obstructions to allowing the paint to adhere cleanly.

Read sprayer instructions
We read over the instructions before using the Control Pro sprayer. Although we have used HEA sprayers before, it is important to be familiar with the process. You will also want to keep an eye on the bucket of paint as you spray to be sure that you change it before it runs out.

Begin spraying
Spray using long strokes, meaning you’ll spray past the end point, then spray back continuously, or starting before you get to the surface to be painted. This will keep the paint from either building up too much or from getting too little coverage.

Stay 12" from surface
I aim for roughly a 12” distance from the surface as a guideline. For lap siding in particular you will want to be sure that you are also spraying up to get under the overlapping sections.

Long hose for extended work area
The Control Pro comes with plenty of hose, so we didn’t have any problem getting to any of the sections of the house. But you do want to plan for where the machine is in relation to your work area.

Paint eaves
Be sure to paint the eaves as well. And wear a respirator, as you will get some blow back in those tight, above the head spaces.

Back roll if necessary
Finally, consider whether you need to back roll the painted surface (that is, go back over the paint with a roller after spraying). On a smoother surface you don’t need to back roll. In back rolling the roller is not loaded with paint. You will simply follow the along the freshly sprayed areas and roll the paint into the texture of the siding.
This house had cedar siding, and back rolling was necessary to get the best adhesion and coverage in all of that texture possible.

Paint trim
Finish by painting the trim work with a brush and/or roller.

Professional looking job
With the Wagner HEA Control Pro 170 Cart we were able to paint this entire house in just a couple of days. Like anything, all it takes is taking the time to do it right and you can have a fantastic, professional looking job.

More info
This post was created in partnership with Wagner SprayTech by The Created Home. The full tutorial and a video are available here.

Download project steps & shopping list
We'll never share your email with anyone else.