# Power Washing Before Painting | Sharp's Painting

Power washing before painting is the cleaning step that comes first on an exterior job from Sharp's Painting, and it means running pressurized water over siding, stucco, trim and fascia until the surface is clean enough for paint to bond. In Huntington Beach and the rest of coastal Orange County the buildup is not ordinary dust. Salt air leaves a film on stucco and siding, the marine layer feeds mildew in shaded eaves and north walls, and older paint chalks into a fine powder that keeps a new coat from grabbing. Wash it badly and the chalk and mildew stay under the primer, so the fresh coat sits on that loose layer instead of bonding to the wall. Robert Sharp washes the exterior with his own crew, no subcontractors, and he is on site for it. Scraping, sanding, stucco crack patching, caulking and priming follow, before anything is sprayed and back rolled. He holds California C-33 license 1048840 and has 27 years of experience.

Provided by Sharp's Painting in Huntington Beach, CA. Call (714) 610-5880 for a free estimate.

## Why choose us
- A clean, chalk free surface lets the new paint grip and hold up in the coastal air
- Salt, mildew and marine layer grime come off before priming instead of getting sealed in
- The owner runs the wash himself with his own crew, so nothing gets rushed or skipped
- Free estimate up front and no payment until the job is done

## How it works
1. **Walk the exterior**: Robert looks over the whole house first, checking for heavy chalking, mildew on the shaded north side, and how much salt buildup the walls are holding.
2. **Pressure wash top to bottom**: He washes the siding, stucco, trim and fascia to strip off salt, dirt, mildew and loose chalk so the paint has clean material to bond to.
3. **Let it dry and spot check**: The surface has to dry out before any paint, so Robert gives it time and goes back over any spots that still show chalk or growth.
4. **Move into the rest of the prep**: Once the walls are clean and dry, the crew scrapes, sands, patches stucco, caulks and primes so the finish coat goes on right.

## FAQ
### Why does my house need pressure washing before painting?
Along the coast your walls collect salt, dirt and mildew, and old paint chalks into a powder. Paint will not stick to any of that. Washing it off gives the new coat a clean surface to bond to so it lasts.

### Is the washing part of the exterior painting or a separate job?
Washing is part of proper prep on an exterior repaint, not a step Robert skips. He pressure washes first, then scrapes, sands, patches, caulks and primes before the finish coat goes on.

### What does the pressure washing actually remove?
It takes off the salt film that coastal air leaves on your walls, plus dirt, mildew from the marine layer, and the chalky residue that old paint breaks down into. Those are the things that keep a fresh coat from sticking.

### Will pressure washing damage my stucco or siding?
Robert has 27 years of experience painting coastal homes and knows how much pressure stucco, wood and fascia can take. He runs the wash himself so the surface comes clean without getting torn up.

### How long do you wait after pressure washing before you start painting?
We wait until the surface is completely dry, which is why the pressure washing is done as its own step before scraping, caulking and priming rather than the morning of paint day. Stucco holds water long after trim and siding feel dry to the touch, and the coastal Huntington Beach marine layer slows that down. Robert is on site and checks the walls himself, because paint over trapped moisture is what blisters and peels.

## Contact
Phone (714) 610-5880 · https://www.sharpspaintingco.com/contact