It’s important that houses are washed each year to maintain the appearance of paint finishes and to remove any build up of salt deposits, bird droppings, mould and other contaminants that can interact with surface coatings. Salt-blown areas that are not washed by the rain need particular attention and if these areas require repainting, it needs to be undertaken after thoroughly washing and preparing the surfaces.Some of the best actions to ensure the longevity of a paint system must be done at the time of painting. Start by selecting a quality paint specifically designed for exterior applications.Making paint go a little further can have long-term impacts on the performance and time to first maintenance. Paint comes with a recommended spreading rate that is designed to ensure that when the paint has dried there will be a film 25–35µm thick per coat. This is important as the final film thickness of a coating system is made up of the high and low points achieved during application. Paint that is thinned or over-spread will result in a thinner film coat. Even 10% thinning can result in a reduction of almost 30% in the dry film thickness.