Prep is 70% of the job
A paint job that fails in two years usually fails because nobody prepped it. My process: pressure wash the whole exterior to remove chalk and dirt, scrape every flake, sand bare wood smooth, prime all bare spots with a stain-blocking exterior primer, caulk every joint and crack with paintable urethane caulk, and tape off windows and trim before a brush touches paint. That's a full day or two of work before paint goes on, and it's the difference between a 3-year job and a 12-year job.

