If you can fog a mirror, surely you can paint a house or a garage like mine. But the key to a long lasting paint job is not the actual painting, it is actually the process of what you do to get to that point.

We already know that you have to prep a job to get it ready to paint on the outside of the house. Here are the tools that I would like to use and I will tell you why I like to use them.

The first thing I use is just a regular sponge. This is the same sponge I use to wash my car. Read the label of any paint can and it says apply the paint to a clean dry surface. That is so important. So just wash the house like you would wash your car. Be careful with power washers, sometimes they can spray water deep into the wood and you really do not want that. That is not necessarily a good idea.

Then after you have washed the house, you are going to have to actually scrape possibly some loose paint. These are just traditional paint scrapers. They come in two different sizes and they work really well. Just get all that loose paint off and once again, you may actually have to wash some of those areas that you scraped a second time.

The next thing you have probably going to have to do is fill some crack areas or nail holes, putty knives. You have to have them. They are flexible, they work really well. This is for a smaller hole, use the big knives for the big cracks and the big areas that you need to fill and of course you will need spackling compound.

Make sure you read on the label. They make them for both interior and exterior. Get an exterior one for exterior paint jobs. Finally caulk guns, any cracks around windows and doors, caulk it. Get a good a one. The good caulk guns cost about $10 to $12 and you have got a lot a more control when you use the good caulk guns and of course acrylic siliconized caulk.

Finally paint brushes. Not just any brush, make sure you get a brush that is match to your paint. Frequently you will have paint manufacturers that make special brushes that match the paint. They do that on purpose to get the best flow and the best amount of paint on the surface.

You have done all the work. You are ready to paint but which is the best paint to use? I would like to use the ones that have a mix of acrylic and polyurethane resins. I discovered this paint about three years ago and it sticks like a epoxy on my house. The reason why is because of the polyurethane. If you have ever used it, you know how sticky polyurethane can be and that is all paint is. It is simply colored glue. Buy the best colored glue you can for your home. I am Tim Carter, ask the builder.

If you want to discover more home improvement tips go to askthebuilder.com.