You probably know at least one person who painted the exterior of their home, only to have it start peeling and looking worn again a few short years later. Surely, you do not want your own home to suffer the same fate. If you're going to put the time and money into painting it, you want that exterior paint job to last. Making sure that it does all comes down to a few important steps.

Scrape the house thoroughly before painting.

If you paint right over peeling paint, then the layer of paint on top will soon start peeling, too. It is therefore very important to thoroughly scrape the home's exterior before you apply any new paint. An easy way to do this is to first power wash the home; this will remove most of the loose paint. Then, go over it again with a scraper to remove the few pieces of peeling paint that may still be lingering.

Make sure the house is dry before painting.

Whether or not you power wash the house, you need to make sure it's fully dry before you apply any paint. Otherwise, the water you trap under the paint may turn into a vapor when it gets warm out, and that vapor will cause the paint to bubble, and then peel. If you wait at least three days between power washing or a rain storm and your painting day, you should be okay. In cooler weather, you may need to wait a little longer.

Use an exterior primer — always.

Sometimes homeowners skip the primer step if there's still quite a lot of paint on the home. But consider that paint has been bleached by the sun and worn over the years. It may not be as sticky as you'd hope. Instead of applying paint right over the top, apply a good layer of exterior primer first. The primer will help seal the material and keep the paint adhering.

Let the paint dry completely between coats.

You will need to apply two coats of exterior paint for good coverage. Make sure you do not apply the second coat until the first one is fully dry. Give it a day — maybe two. If you apply a second coat while the first one is still moist, the paint will end up too thick, which may cause it to start peeling.

Follow the tips above, and your exterior painting job should last a lot longer. If you instead hire professionals to paint your home, check to ensure they will also follow these protocols; most do, but there's no harm in asking. Find an exterior painter in your area today.