This Los Angeles house had the usual west-facing exterior story — fascia boards split open at the ends, soffit edges peeling, caulk lines failed at every gutter seam, old paint chalked and flaking. None of it was structurally scary, but all of it was going to cost real money if it kept going. We did a full exterior trim repair pass before any new paint went on.

Prep is the job

A new paint coat is only going to last as long as what’s under it. Our prep pass across the whole house:

• Scraped every loose, chalked, or flaking section of old paint down to sound surface
• Pulled open soft or rotted fascia ends — replaced short runs where the wood had failed
• Sanded every edge smooth before any filler or primer
• Removed the old failed caulk out of every gutter seam, soffit-to-fascia joint, and vent trim before new caulk went in

Sanding and dust

Exterior trim prep is a dust job. We run sanders with built-in HEPA vacs and respirators rated for the paint we’re pulling (older houses in LA can have lead paint in older coats — we test first). Any suspect coats get wet-method removal, not dry sanding, and the dust gets contained and bagged out.

Caulk and seal

Every soffit-to-fascia joint, every gutter-to-fascia seam, every corner miter — all get fresh exterior-grade caulk, tooled smooth. A good caulk job is invisible in the finish, but if you skip it, water finds the joints within one rainy season and starts peeling the new paint off from underneath.

Prime and paint

All bare wood gets a bonding exterior primer before the finish coats. Old painted surfaces that were sound get scuffed and recoated. Finish is two coats of exterior-grade acrylic — brushed into the joints and the fascia ends where the roller can’t cover evenly, rolled on the flat runs.

Project summary

• Scope: full exterior trim repair and repaint — fascia, soffit, trim, gutter joints
• Prep: scrape, replace failed sections, sand, re-caulk every joint
• Primer: exterior-grade bonding primer on all bare wood
• Finish: two coats exterior acrylic, brushed + rolled
• Safety: lead test before sanding on older coats, HEPA extraction during work

Fascia pulling away, soffit edges peeling, caulk lines failed? Get in touch — we handle exterior trim repair and repaint in one scope.