EXTERIOR PAINTING
Exterior Painting in Los Angeles Built to Beat the Sun
Family-owned since 1929, we prep every surface the slow, thorough way, then apply premium paint at manufacturer spread rates so your warranty actually holds up.
We respond within 24 hours - usually the same day.
Exterior House Painting That Lasts in Southern California Weather
Exterior house painting in Los Angeles has one real enemy, and it is the weather. Relentless UV, triple-digit heat waves, Santa Ana winds, marine-layer moisture, and the occasional driving winter rain all take turns working on your paint.
Foothill Painting has been painting LA area homes since 1929, and the lesson nearly a century of local work teaches is simple: the paint job is won or lost in the prep. Our own trained W-2 crews wash, scrape, sand, patch, and prime before a finish coat ever touches your house, because skipping those steps is why so many exteriors fail in three years instead of lasting ten or more.
Every project uses Dunn-Edwards or Sherwin-Williams exterior products applied at manufacturer-specified spread rates, which keeps your full paint warranty valid. You also get our written workmanship warranty and enrollment in a follow-up maintenance program that inspects and touches up your home on schedule.
What LA Sun and Heat Actually Do to Your Paint
The finish coat is the last step - washing, scraping, and patching the sun-beaten surfaces comes first.
Ultraviolet light breaks down the resins that hold paint together. On south- and west-facing walls, that shows up as fading, chalking, and a dull, powdery surface that rubs off on your hand. Dark and bold colors fade fastest, which is why one side of a house often looks years older than the rest.
Heat does its damage through movement. Stucco and wood expand on hot afternoons and contract on cool nights, and over thousands of those cycles, rigid or thinly applied paint cracks and lets moisture in. Once water gets behind the film, you get peeling, blistering, and staining.
Closer to the coast, the marine layer adds daily moisture and salt to the mix, and in the foothills, wind-driven dust grinds at the finish. Stucco brings its own issues too, since hairline cracking is normal as the material cures and the ground shifts. If your walls show cracking or patch damage, see our stucco repair and painting service, where we fix the surface before we ever paint it.
Signs Your Exterior Is Overdue
Catch it early and you are paying for paint. Catch it late and you are paying for wood replacement and stucco repair too. Call (818) 748-3227 for a free on-site inspection and a written quote.
The Cost of Putting Off Exterior House Painting
Exterior paint is a protective membrane before it is anything else. When it fails, sun and moisture go to work on the stucco, siding, fascia, and trim underneath, and those repairs cost far more than the repaint that would have prevented them.
Failed caulking and cracked stucco also give water a path into wall cavities, where it can rot framing and invite termites long before anything shows on the surface. By the time a stain appears inside, the damage outside has usually been underway for seasons.
Curb appeal carries real money as well. A crisp exterior is one of the first things buyers and appraisers see, and a peeling one invites lowball offers. For hillside homes in fire-prone areas, the exterior is also part of your defensible envelope - see our wildfire home hardening services for coatings and upgrades aimed at fire-prone zones. For stucco and masonry walls, that includes Class A fire rated wall coatings.
Exterior Surfaces We Paint
Stucco & EIFS
The dominant siding in Southern California, and the one most contractors prep worst. We repair cracks, patch damage, and use the right primers and elastomeric options so the finish moves with the wall. Full details on our stucco repair and painting page.
Wood Siding, Shingles & Trim
Scraping, sanding, spot-priming, and repainting wood siding, window trim, shutters, and doors, with careful attention to the sun-baked south and west elevations.
Fascia, Soffits & Eaves
The most weather-exposed wood on your house. We seal and coat these properly because they are the first place rot starts.
Fences, Gates & Block Walls
Durable coatings for wood fences, iron gates, and concrete block walls that take full sun all day.
Decks, Patios & Garage Doors
Stains and coatings rated for foot traffic and direct exposure, plus smooth enamel finishes on garage doors that face the street.
Concrete & Masonry
Breathable masonry coatings that resist efflorescence and moisture instead of trapping it.
Our 7-Step Exterior Painting Process
INSPECTION
A professional estimator inspects and tests every surface, identifies damage, and discusses any concerns with you before quoting, so there are never surprises mid-job.
PRESSURE WASHING
We wash the entire exterior to strip dirt, chalk, and loose paint. Paint applied over grime fails early no matter how good the product is.
SURFACE PREP
Scraping, sanding, patching stucco cracks, repairing damaged wood, and re-caulking gaps around windows, doors, and trim. This is the step that decides how long the job lasts, and it is where we spend the most time.
PRIMING
Bare wood, patched stucco, and stained areas get the correct primer for the surface, giving the finish coats something to bond to.
APPLICATION
Dunn-Edwards or Sherwin-Williams exterior paint, applied at the manufacturer's specified spread rates. That detail is what qualifies you for the full manufacturer warranty, and plenty of contractors quietly stretch the paint instead.
CLEANUP & WALKTHROUGH
Daily cleanup while the job runs, full cleanup at the end, and a walkthrough with you to inspect every elevation before we call it done.
WARRANTY
You receive a written warranty and enrollment in our follow-up maintenance program, which inspects and re-coats on schedule to keep both warranties valid.
Exterior Transformations Across the LA Area
Complete exterior repaint - stucco patched, primed, and finished in a heat-stable white with crisp dark accents.
Before and after, Ventura County - a sun-faded exterior washed, prepped, and refinished in crisp white.
Porch and siding refresh - weathered wood scraped, primed, and finished with clean enamel lines.
Our crews repaint exteriors across the area every week, from Burbank and Glendale to Pasadena, the foothills, and Santa Clarita.
Frequently Asked Questions About Exterior House Painting
How much should it cost to paint a 2,000 sq ft house exterior?
In Los Angeles, painting the exterior of a 2,000 sq ft home typically costs $6,000 to $12,000 depending on the number of stories, surface type, and how much prep and repair work is needed. Multi-story homes, heavy stucco patching, and wood rot repairs push the number higher. Every Foothill quote is a written, fixed price after an on-site inspection.
How often should a house be repainted?
In Southern California, most exterior paint jobs last 7 to 10 years with proper prep and premium paint. South- and west-facing walls take the hardest UV hit and tend to fade and chalk faster than the rest of the house. Our follow-up maintenance program inspects and touches up on schedule to stretch that lifespan.
Is it better to roll or spray exterior house paint?
The best approach combines both methods. Spraying delivers fast, even coverage across large surfaces like stucco walls, while back-rolling immediately after pushes paint into the texture for better adhesion and penetration. Trim and detail areas get brushed by hand. Our crews use all three techniques on every exterior job.
Can I just paint over old exterior paint?
If the existing paint is sound - not peeling, not chalking heavily, not blistering - yes, after a thorough pressure wash and spot-priming of any bare areas. If the old paint is failing, those layers need to be scraped, sanded, and properly primed before new paint goes on, or the fresh coat will peel right along with them.
What is the best time to paint a house exterior in Los Angeles?
Late spring through early fall is ideal because humidity is low and rain is unlikely. The key is avoiding direct hot sun on the surface you are painting, so our crews follow the shade around the house wall by wall. We paint exteriors year-round in LA, working around the occasional winter rain and summer heat wave.
Get a Straight Answer on Your Exterior Project
Tell us what needs painting. A Foothill estimator inspects your exterior, explains what the surfaces need, and gives you a written price that holds.
The same crews handle interior painting, and our roof coatings protect the fifth wall of your home from the same sun.
