Get a beautiful Exterior Finish Using These Techniques .
Exterior Painting Tips, Get A Flawless finish On Your Own
Overview: Exterior Painting
Painting The outside of your home could be a BIG task. In the end the reward always outweighs the risk. With . All you need is a few inexpensive tools and you're off to the races. With painting alone you can save thousands of bucks extending the life of your siding,trim , and any exterior wood work . An added perk is having the best looking house on the block. While you may spend some money on tools (if you don't already own them) as well as the cost of paint which has been rising over the past year . This job could easily be done by a professional which would cost you a bit more Or you can go at it alone which is why i am writing this guide. The choice is totally up to you.Going at it alone You have to make sure your prep work is on point . You may want to plan to take a few weekends to finish a medium size house , especially if you work quite frequently .
First Exterior Painting Technique
The first technique you want to make sure not to skip is your prep work . This means caulking any cracks that need to be filled . Replacing rotted or damaged boards that need replacing. Prep work is Key. Anybody can slap paint on a surface , but when you do all the bad will show up in your finish . Just scraping loose paint and caulking areas that need it can make a big difference in your paint job. Scraping off loose paint and sanding for a smooth finish is also key . Boards that are weathered but not needing replacement can look anew . After doing so and spot priming you'll be ready to apply some paint in no time. You want to make sure you have drop cloths and plastic down to make the final clean up 10x easier and stress free .
Boxing your paint
If you're not familiar with what this term means I;ll explain. Boxing your paint means Mixing them all together to keep a consistent color. Although its the same color it tends to differ slightly from can to can . Now that's been completed now time to pour out a bit into your working pot. I typically use a handy paint pail by wooster call the pelican . It's designed for you to fit a brush as well as a whiz roller to work with. Ths comes in handy . You can cut in then directly proceed to rolling in the cut in to keep the same texture through and through . This is the perfect set up for interior projects but also exterior painting projects which gets seen 10x more than the inside of your home. keeping a wet edge is key to prevent lapping marks in your finished product
Roller technique
For this You'll need a separate bucket and grid , unless you purchased the paint by the 5 gallon bucket. Pour about 2-3 gallons worth of paint and place your grid in the bucket . Dip your roller in the paint and use the grid to roll off all excess paint making for a cleaner job with less drips and clean up. The way you want to roll is going along the grain of the wood if you're painting trim . If you are painting siding you want to go the direction the siding is installed . ex if it's installed vertically you want to paint up and down if it's instant horizontal then you'll go side to side . Always keeping a wet edge and a fully loaded roller.
Planning your strategy
You typically want to work from top to bottom when painting the outside of your home. When coming on two meeting colors you want to let the first dry before cutting in the second color. Me personally when painting exteriors I like to paint all of the siding first. then come back and paint the trimming . This works really well especially when your are spraying vs the traditional brushing and rolling . Spraying gives you a more uniform look and also speeds up the painting process. Getting the siding portion out the first then coming back to hand brush and roll the trim is a lot better. The siding is complete and its less mistakes to fix this way. With all these tips just make sure when you are planning to start this project , check the forecast for consecutive sunny days . It'll be a shame to have to start and keep stopping due to the weather . Hope these techniques and tips help you out . If you find you'll never have time to complete this job you can always hire a professional . It will cost more but sometimes convenience is worth gold. Hop on google or ask friends and family if they know a painting contractor or a handyman that can do this project for you . If not you can contact home depot pro referral services they'll send you at least 3 Pro's you can speak with to help you with your Exterior Painting project