Painting Facade – Step by Step

How to paint the facade of a house – including all the preparatory work as well as the various preliminary, intermediate and final coats – is explained in this guide.

What is the best way to paint a facade?

When the facade of the house no longer looks nice or is crumbling, it’s time for a new coat of paint. However, before you start painting the facade, you should carry out the necessary preparatory work. This work includes a thorough cleaning of the facade – for example, with a high-pressure cleaner. Also, repair any damage – the house wall may even need a new coat of plaster. Thanks to a carefully applied primer, you will later need both fewer coats and less facade paint. Thorough preparation of the facade is therefore worthwhile in many ways.

How often you have to paint a new facade depends on the selected facade paint and the given substrate. Dispersion paints are suitable for strong, colorful facade coats, while silicate paints work well for cement-based, porous substrates. Breathable lime paints are used especially for pastel tones, but are not suitable for heavily insulated facades. Polymer resin paints are suitable for mineral plasters, concrete and brick masonry.

Basically, you first pre-paint the corners and angles of the house facade. This is followed by the primer, to which you can also add water and an anti-algae or anti-mold concentrate. Then apply at least one intermediate coat. Here, too, you dilute the paint and, if necessary, add a protective concentrate. Finally, apply the final coat of undiluted facade paint. This coat is applied lengthwise and crosswise until the entire surface is satisfactorily covered.

Be sure to use a safe scaffold for painting the house facade. This makes the work much easier and significantly increases your safety. A smaller, rollable scaffold is also helpful for painting at ground level.

How to paint your facade – 7 steps

Step 1: Checking the load-bearing capacity of the facade

At a glance

• Thoroughly check load-bearing capacity
• If necessary, remove façade defects

This is how it works

Wipe over the facade. If the plaster trickles or the old facade paint flakes off easily, remove the defective areas over a large area before repainting.

You can also test the load-bearing capacity of the facade using an adhesive tape test. To do this, lightly score the test surface with a cutter knife, stick masking tape firmly on it and tear off the tape sharply. If parts of the old paint remain stuck, the substrate is not load-bearing and must be removed.

Step 2: Thoroughly clean the substrate before painting

At a glance

• Sweep off facade and clean with high-pressure cleaner
• Remove moss and algae growth
• Collect wastewater and dispose of it properly

This is how it works

All substrates must be clean, dry and dust-free before priming and painting. To do this, first roughly sweep the facade and thoroughly clean the exterior wall with a high-pressure cleaner. You also carefully remove moss and algae – here, too, the high-pressure cleaner provides valuable support.

It is a legal requirement that you must completely collect and properly dispose of wastewater, paint residues, blasting sand and abrasion. To do this, cover the work area on all sides and at full height with a suitable tarpaulin. For details on proper disposal, contact your local environmental authority.

Step 3: Repairing the facade and masking sensitive areas

At a glance

• Repair cracks and holes
• If necessary, apply new plaster to defective areas
• Cover sensitive areas with masking film

This is how it works

Repair cracks in the wall and holes in the facade and, if necessary, replaster defective areas of the house wall. Then tape off doors, windows and other sensitive areas of the facade (for example, exterior lights, doorbells and ventilation flaps) with tape and masking film to protect them from dirt and damage.

Step 4: Test absorbency and prime if necessary

At a glance

• Test absorbency with a wet sponge
• Apply primer if necessary

This is how it works

Test the absorbency of the facade substrate with a wet sponge. If the facade is absorbing moisture, prime the house wall carefully. Apply the primer generously with a brush or tassel. Be careful not to work in direct sunlight.

As soon as the primer has been applied according to the manufacturer’s instructions, start painting the facade.

Step 5: Pre-paint corners and angles of the house facade

At a glance

• Pre-paint corners and angles with the brush
• If necessary, paint specific details or elements

This is how it works

The actual facade painting begins with painting the corners and angles of the facade. Here you apply the paint with a brush.

You can also paint architectural details, special elements or areas of the house wall with a brush – especially if these will later appear in a different color.

Step 6: Pre- and intermediate coats

At a glance

• Apply a primer coat of diluted paint
• Follow with at least one intermediate coat
• If necessary, apply anti-mold concentrate and Algizit

This is how it works

Use the facade paint for the primer and intermediate coats. The primer can be thinned with 5% to 15% water, depending on the manufacturer’s instructions. The facade paint diluted with water reduces the consumption during painting.

To better protect the paint and plaster, add a fungicide (anti-mold concentrate) and/or an algicide to the paint if necessary. The concentrates effectively prevent the formation of mold and algae.

Step 7: Final coat: cross paint

At a glance

• Apply final coat with undiluted paint
• Paint lengthwise, crosswise and again lengthwise

This is how it works

The final coat of the exterior facade is applied with undiluted paint in three steps: Paint the surface with the paint on the paint roller, first lengthwise, then crosswise and again lengthwise. Roll the individual strips of paint wet on wet. In this way, you achieve the highest opacity for the facade of your house.