Exterior Painting Tips
Read these 16 Exterior Painting Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Interior Painting tips and hundreds of other topics.
A crucial tip for painting Stucco
Stucco can be a tricky project. There are a few latex "stucco coat" products that work very well. A brush should be used to cut into any wood areas, or along trim, and a roller used to apply the main coat.
Hot Tip: It is recommended that you wash down your stucco with a hose or deck sprayer prior to painting it. A solution of bleach and soapy water is useful to remove mildew. It is useful to paint the stucco while it is still damp after washing. This method reduces the amount of paint needed, and it results in a more even coat.
Improve adhesion of exterior paints
To improve adhesion and corrosion resistance during coating, use conversion coatings such as iron and zinc phosphate, chromium phosphate and chromating because they produce a layer of insoluble inorganic salts tightly bonded onto the metal surface. This layer provides an excellent anchor for paint adhesion and also increases corrosion resistance.
Extension Ladder Tip: Use a
When you are painting from an extension ladder a "pot hook" is an important tool. You can purchase them at any paint or hardware store, or you can make your own quickly and easily. An old wire handle from a paint bucket makes a great pot hook. Just bend it and make a paper clip-like end to hold the paint can. The other end simply hangs off the rung of the ladder out to the side.
Prepping bare wood
To prepare wood for painting, lightly sand wood with fine sandpaper. Seal wood with a water-based sealer, making sure to cover front, back, and edges and use flat or foam brushes to apply. The sealer makes the grain rise so sand the wood a second time and wipe again with tack cloth.
Avoid painting in direct sunlight
When painting outdoors it is important to follow a few easy steps in order to avoid, "Lap" marks which will show after the paint is dry. Latex paint has a molecular structure which allows vapors to pass through it, which prevent blistering. However, these same properties cause the paint to dry very quickly, especially on hot days, or in direct sunlight. It is best to paint your siding, or foundation in long runs across the house, a few layers at a time, rather than to paint section by section. You won't see the lap marks until the paint is completely dry, but they will be there.
Painting a Porch
When painting a porch, prepare the porch surface by scraping away old flaking paint, filling any gouges and sanding the surface smooth. Pound in or replace any protruding nails and clean the floor, including the spaces between the boards. Prime with quality primer and paint with one or two coats of floor paint. Use low-tack painter's tape to create design.
Extend the Life of your Exterior Paint
To extend the life of your paint job: Never start an exterior painting project without proper preparation, such as thorough cleaning of the surface, removal of old peeling paint and use of primer if required. An oil based (alkyd) primer is generally preferred for exterior surfaces.
Proper preparation will prevent the need to repaint right away.
Choices for Wood Siding
Exterior wood siding can be painted or stained. There is a wide array of products available in both mediums. I prefer an alkyd (oil base) primer for bare wood, the top coat would vary depending on the look desired.
Primer is not required under stain except solid color stain that is white or another light color.
For repainting, primer is only required for areas where the preparation steps brought you down to bare wood, or where stain killer is needed due to mildew or water damage.
Stains for wood come in several degrees of transparency. Semi-transparent stains are useful for letting the wood grain show through, that can be a very nice look over cedar shingles.
Staining your siding
Generally it is easier to brush stain onto siding. The stain should be applied in the direction of the grain. For best results, apply the stain to one or two courses of siding at a time from one end to the other.
Remember that stain tends to splash, so drop cloths are especially important. Be sure to cover anything that may be at risk of getting splattered (propane tanks, air conditioning units, etc.)
It is a good rule to paint the bottom edge of the siding first, then the face. This allows any runs to have time to appear onto the level below before you finish painting it.
Stains
Stains are a dispersion of pigment in a low-viscosity binder. It is designed to color a surface by penetrating without hiding the texture of the surface.
Stains are categorized into several types:
Interior and Exterior.
Latex and Oil Based.
Solid color and Semi-Transparent.
The benefits of stains:
Stains enhance rather than cover wood surfaces.
They form a thin film, normally eliminating the possibility of blistering due to weather conditions.
Stains are normally applied directly to wood with no primer required, except in the case of white stain.
Stains are easy to apply and easy to refinish.
Solid color stains obscure the grain of the wood but reveal the texture. They are more durable than semi-transparents. Solid stains generally have a life of about 5 years.
Semi-transparent stains reveal and enhance the grain of the wood. When used inside you will need to use a protective finish. Semi-transparent stains generally have a life of 2-3 years.
Decorate your old house with a pencil
Here's a trick well-known to old-time painters. The stucco coating on the exterior wall surfaces of nineteenth-century masonry houses was marked out to look like blocks of stone. Narrow horizontal and vertical grooves were impressed into the surface of the stucco coating to give the walls the appearance of the regular blocks of stone known as ashlar. After repainting the outside of your house run a carpenter's pencil along the grooves. This sharpens up the appearance of the building and reinforces the impression of 'stone' blocks. The impression works best if the paint chosen is in a stone colour.
Paint Disposal
If you're like most people, you've probably got a can or two of old paint sitting around in the garage. Paint doesn't last forever, so what do you do when you want to get rid of the old stuff? Most garbage services won't pick up sealed paint cans because they could rupture and drip all over the neighborhood. Here's a great solution:
If you've just got a little paint left, just leave the can open until the paint hardens. For more paint, pour it onto a big piece of cardboard and leave it outside until the solvents evaporate, then just throw the whole thing away. Of course, if you've got kids or pets, put your cardboard in a safe place, where they can't get to it.
Check before painting a metal roof
Most people know about galvanic action, the corrosive effect that occurs when incompatible metals come into contact. But few people are aware of the damage to galvanised iron gutters and downpipes that can occur when an old roof is replaced with Zincalume, glazed tiles or painted metal sheeting. These materials, unlike roofing of galvanised steel, unglazed tiles or fibro, do not deposit metal salts and minerals as a protective coating on the inside of the gutter. Pure rainwater flowing from a chemically-inert roof may wash away the protective film on the inside of the galvanised guttering, causing rapid early gutter failure.
Applying Exterior Paints
After preparation is complete, these are the basic steps:
Choose appropriate weather. You want to paint on mild, warm days, but try to avoid painting in direct sunlight.
Spot prime repaired areas with sealer or for latex, just use some of the finish paint.
Caulk where necessary: siding to corner boards, around window and door frames etc.
Remove screens and drain pipes.
Always start at the top of the house.
Use a wide siding brush, stopping only at natural breaks to avoid lap marks.
Dampen stucco with a garden hose before painting it.
Paint the main siding or shingles first, trim last.
Common Exterior Uses of Caulk
Filling in the gap between a window and the molding (brick mold) around it.
Filling in gaps where different surfaces meet (such as a foundation and siding).
Filling in holes in the concrete block of a foundation (use masonry caulk).
Use a putty knife to make sure the caulk bonds to the surfaces around it.
Filling in the gap between a sidewalk and foundation
Wood Finish for Fiberglass doors
You can make your fiberglass entrance door look like wood! It is an easy do-it-yourself project that can be done in a weekend. All you need is some "gel stain" in your choice of color.
Simply rag on the gel stain over the entire door. Quickly rag off the surface with a clean rag; this will leave stain only in the recessed areas of the door.
Apply another coat of the gel stain, this time using a brush and being careful to follow the "grain". Allow the stain to dry thoroughly.
Apply 2-3 coats of Polyurethane or comparable product over the stain to add lasting durability.
A great look!
| Guru Spotlight |
| Mary White |
