Exterior Painting

house-washing-300EXTERIOR PAINTING PREPARATION

  1. When we strip houses, we follow this procedure:
  2. Set all nails below surface using a hammer and nail set.
  3. Scrape any paint that will come off with scraper.
  4. Strip all paint agreed upon with chemical stripper and or sanding. We cover the ground to catch all paint being removed and clean up daily.
  5. Neutralize stripper with tsp substitute. Applied, scrubbed and rinsed with hose.
  6. Sand all wood with 80 grit paper and palm sanders. Wood is bare at this paint and does not put out paint dust.
  7. Clean siding. (Cleaning is done by hand with damp painting rags folded flat)
  8. Putty all nail holes; caulk all cracks and seams, and spackle wood defects. (Do not caulk along horizontal undersides of siding. Not designed for it. Will hold water and cause peeling.)
  9. Sand all spackling and clean siding again.
  10. Prime siding by brush with first coat exterior oil primer thinned about 10% with paint thinner to promote penetration into wood.
  11. Do second prep. (Spackling, wood defects again, etc.) When wood is primed, it shows up any wood defects missed, or nail holes needing more putty.
  12. Sand all siding with 120 grit sandpaper. This will sand down any wood fibers that stiffen with first coat of primer, and second round of spackling.
  13. Clean siding again.
  14. Prime all siding by brush again with oil primer (full strength) to fully prime and prepare for painting.
  15. Sand primer lightly by hand.
  16. Clean siding again.
  17. Apply by brush first coat exterior paint.
  18. Check for defects, and hand sand lightly if necessary.
  19. Apply by brush second coat exterior paint.

*The above procedures apply to all wood being stripped, including door and window frames, trim, columns, etc.

When we do not strip the paint, our preparation includes:

  1. Set all nails below surface. Using a hammer and nail set. Putty, sand and prime.
  2. Scrape any paint that will come off with scraper.
  3. Sand all wood and paint with 80 grit paper and power sanders. Removing more, and feathering paint.
  4. Spackle all rough areas and defects on siding and trim as agreed upon or specified. Generally most, especially around entrances, porches, etc.
  5. Caulk all seams, cracks, etc. Using Big Stretch caulk.
  6. Prime all bare wood, repairs, and any bare metal.
  7. Sand all primer by hand.
  8. Clean all areas.Apply by brush first coat exterior paint
  9. Check for defects, and hand sand lightly if necessary.
  10. Apply by brush second coat exterior paint.