Painting exteriors can seem like an immense task. "How am I going to get paint all the way up there?" you might be asking. "And in the sun?" However, exterior painting is not as difficult as you might think, provided you know the right steps to speed the process along.
Identifying Paint Problems
You'll need to clean and prep the surface, decide what type of paint to use, and apply the paint. The best time to paint is in late spring or early fall on a dry day that is not too sunny. Temperatures below 40 degrees F and direct hot sun can ruin paint jobs. Inspect your house thoroughly before you paint, and take corrective action to prevent the root causes of paint failure. Following are tips on dealing with various paint problems.
Peeling:
Peeling is often the result of painting over wet wood. It can also result from moisture within the house pushing its way out. If you cannot control the moisture with exhaust fans, use latex primer and latex paint. Latex allows some moisture to pass right through the paint.
Another cause of peeling is a dirty or a glossy surface. To undo the damage, all loose paint flakes must be scraped off with a wire brush and the surface must be sanded to smooth sharp edges. Bare spots should be primed before painting.
This problem looks just like its name suggests: the hide of an alligator. Paint shrinks into individual islands, exposing the previous surface, usually because the top coat is not adhering to the paint below. Perhaps the paints are not compatible or the second coat was applied before the first coat had dried. To get rid of this problem, scrape off the old paint and then sand, prime, and repaint the surface.
Paint that rises from the surface and forms blisters is usually due to moisture or improper painting. To fix the problem, first scrape off the blisters. If you can see dry wood behind them, the problem is due to moisture. If you find paint, then it is a solvent blister and is probably caused by painting with an oilbase or alkyd-base coating in hot weather. The heat forms a skin on the paint and traps solvent in a bubble.
New paint can run and sag into a series of slack, skinlike droops. This occurs when the paint you are using is too thick and forms a surface film over the still-liquid paint below. It can also happen if you paint in cold weather; the cold surface slows drying underneath. To recoat, make sure the new paint is the proper consistency and be sure to brush it out as you apply. Before doing this, though, you will have to sand the wrinkled area smooth and, if necessary, remove the paint altogether.
This is paint that has a dusty surface. Some oilbase and alkyd-base paints are designed to "chalk" when it rains. When this happens, a very fine powdery layer is removed, automatically cleaning the surface. In most cases, this is desirable. But if foundations, sidewalks, and shrubs become stained, too much chalking is occurring.
This is likely due to painting over a too-porous surface that has absorbed too much of the paint's binding agents. A chemical imbalance in an inferior paint may also be the cause of excessive chalking. The best solution is to wash down the chalking surfaces as thoroughly as possible, then paint over them with a nonchalking paint.
This moldy growth appears where dampness and shade prevail. And, if you paint over it, it's likely to come right through the new paint. Use a fungicide such as chlorine bleach or a commercial solution to kill patches of mildew before repainting.
Using a paintbrush or roller incorrectly (e.g., too much paint on the brush or roller) can create a wavy, irregular surface. To correct it after the paint is dry, sand and repaint surface, smoothing out the new coat to an even thickness.
Paint Won't Dry
This is perhaps the best reason to buy high-quality paint. Prolonged tackiness is an indication of inferior paint. If you apply poor-quality paint too thickly or during high humidity, it will stay tacky for a long time. Good paint, on the other hand, dries quickly. If you think you may have an inferior paint, first experiment on an inconspicuous portion of the house.
Before you begin painting the exterior of your home, you should check the condition of the current paint job. Paint problems can be caused by flaws in the surface material, improper paint choices, incorrect painting technique, or a host of other issues. Knowing what went wrong before will help you to avoid going awry this time around.
This helpful chart will allow you to troubleshoot the various problems you may encounter with the existing surface. You'll see how they developed, and learn the best approach to fixing them and restoring a smooth, clean surface ready for painting.
| Problem | Possible Cause | Solution |
| Peeling | Paint curls due to wet wood, interior moisture vapor, dirty, glossy surface. | Scrape, sand, prime, repaint. Install siding/soffit vents outside, exhaust fans inside. |
| Wrinkling | New paint sags and droops. Paint applied too thickly. | Scrape, sand, prime, and repaint. Stir new paint and brush out thoroughly. |
| Alligatoring | Paint dries into islands. Either due to incompatible paints or painting too soon over still-wet coat. | Scrape, sand, prime, and repaint with a compatible coating. |
| Blistering | Surface blisters caused by underlying moisture or solvent from paint applied on hot day. | Sand smooth, repaint. Install vents. Paint on mild days. |
| Chalking | Powdery residue stains on sidewalks, foundations. Inferior paint or porous undercoat to blame. | Wash down surface, let dry, repaint with nonchalking coating. |
| Mildew | Discoloration of exterior surface due to growth of fungus, usually black/green stains. | Scrub off with chlorine bleach or fungicide, let dry, repaint with mildew-resistant formula. Trim tree branches, shrubs. |
| Running sags | Wavy paint surface. Paint applied too heavily. | Sand smooth, repaint. Brush out paint to a consistent thickness. |
| Paint won't dry | Inferior paint. | Patience or removing and repainting. Test paints on small areas before painting entire house. |
| Efflorescence | Whitish deposits on masonry caused by moisture-induced oxidation. | Scrub off deposits with 10:1 water-muriatic acid solution, followed by 2:1 water-ammonia, water rinse, dry, repaint with appropriate masonry paint. Check downspouts, eliminate damp conditions. |
| Rust-stained siding/shingles | Rusting nail heads, gutters sealed insufficiently. | Seal rusting nail heads with rust-resistant sealer and paint entire surface. |
| Rusted metal | Deteriorated paint combined with moisture. | Scrape, sand, recoat with metal primer, metal paint. |
| Bleeding knots | Knot resin dissolved by paint solvent from improperly sealed, primed knots. | Scrape, sand to bare wood, coat with shellac, prime, repaint. |
Removing Old Paint
Start by thoroughly examining the outside of the house or outbuilding -- not just the exterior walls but under the eaves, around windows and doors, and along the foundation. Look for split shingles and siding, popped nails, peeling or blistering paint, mildew, and rust stains. Once you've identified the areas that need attention, roll up your sleeves and make the repairs.
 Remove small areas of defective paint with a wire brush and/or a wide-blade putty knife. Scrub under the laps of clapboard siding and on downspouts and gutters. |
Use a wire brush and a wide-blade putty knife to remove small areas of defective paint. Scrub under the laps of clapboard siding as well as on downspouts and gutters. For speedier work on metal, a wire brush attachment on an electric drill will remove rust and paint with less effort. For more extensive paint removal, invest in a sharp pull scraper -- a tool with a replaceable blade that's capable of stripping old paint all the way down to bare wood with a single scrape. Hold the scraper so the blade is perpendicular to the wood, apply moderate to firm pressure, and drag it along the surface. Keep the blade flat against the wood so it doesn't gouge the surface.
 Move an electric orbital sander up and down or back and forth to remove old paint and feather rough edges. |
For smoothing the edges of scraped spots here and there, you can wrap a piece of sandpaper around a wood block. For larger areas, it's less tiring and more effective to use an electric orbital sander. Move it up and down or back and forth across the surface to remove old paint and smooth rough edges at the same time. Don't use an electric disc sander or a belt sander. Both can leave swirls or dips in the wood that will show through a new coat of paint.
Melting
For particularly heavy deposits of paint, heat may be more effective than muscle. One way to apply heat is with an electric paint remover, which is a device with a platelike heating element that "cooks" the paint and has a built-in scraper to pull it off. Wearing heavy gloves, hold the heating element against the surface until the paint sizzles. Pull the remover firmly over the surface. The attached scraper will pull off the cooked paint as you go.
 Another way to remove old paint is with an electric paint remover -- a device with a platelike heating element that softens the paint and has a built-in scraper. |
Use liquid paint removers only as a last resort. They work well, but they're expensive, especially on big jobs. Also, they can slop onto perfectly good paint, giving you one more problem to deal with.
Priming
Once you have removed all the loose paint, you should apply an appropriate primer to some of the distressed areas, especially if your paint-removal system has exposed raw wood or bare metal. The kind of primer you use depends on the kind of paint you'll be using later. For latex paint, use latex primers; for solvent-thinned paints, use solvent-base primers; and for metals, use metal primers. Not only do these coatings provide extra protection against the elements, they also form a firm foundation for finishing paints. Also, priming is always required when you're working on new wood.
Exterior Painting Preparation
Even if you're fortunate enough to skip spot-scraping, sanding, and repriming, there are still some prepainting chores to attend to. They're much less laborious than removing peeling paint but no less vital to a successful job.
Rust stains on siding, overhangs, and foundations need to be removed. Leaks in gutters and downspouts have to be repaired. Loose caulking should be replaced, along with split shingles. Cracks in siding must be filled, sanded, and primed. Mildew must be scrubbed off, and steps should be taken to eliminate its return.
Also, to make painting easier, storm windows, screens, shutters, awnings, wall-mounted light fixtures (be sure to turn the power supply off), the mailbox, and even the street address numbers should be taken down, cleaned, and painted separately. You may even want to remove downspouts, as it's sometimes difficult to get a paintbrush behind them.
 To make painting easier, remove light fixtures and other accessories. |
Washing Exteriors
Washing the exterior of your home before painting will not only get the outside of your house clean and provide a dirt-free foundation for the new coating, but it will also help you find surface flaws that have to be dealt with.
Depending on just how dirty the outside of your house is and on the house's size, there are two ways to approach this job. If you live in an average-size house, use a garden hose with a carwash brush attachment to bathe the big areas. For caked-on dirt, use a scrub brush or a sponge and a pail of warm water with a good, strong household detergent in it. Work from the top down, and rinse all areas where you scrubbed with water.
 To remove caked-on dirt, a scrub brush or a sponge and a pail of warm water with a good, strong detergent should do the job. |
For bigger houses or for faster work on smaller ones, rent a high-pressure spray cleaner. This device attaches to your home's water-supply system and puts out a jet of water at a pressure of about 600 pounds per square inch. It is equipped with a handheld wand tipped with a trigger-activated nozzle. The pressure is high enough to dislodge not only stubborn dirt, mildew, stains, and dried-on sea-spray salt, it's enough to remove peeling paint. In fact, if the jet nozzle is held too close to the surface it can even peel off perfectly sound paint, split open shingles, and drill a hole in siding. So follow the manufacturer's directions and wear goggles and protective clothing.
You can use the spray cleaner while working from a ladder -- although scaffolding is better -- but practice at ground level first; the force of the spray against the house could knock you off a ladder if you're not careful. Some of these machines come with separate containers you can fill with cleaning solutions or anti-mildew solutions. Sprayers are so powerful that ordinarily you probably won't need to use a cleaning solution; if you do, remember to rinse the surface with clean water afterward.
Resetting Popped Nails
Washing the exterior of your home before a paint job may reveal nails that have popped out of the siding or rusting nail heads that have left streaks of rust on exterior walls. If so, use sandpaper or steel wool to clean the nail heads. On clapboard siding, use a nail set to recess the nail head about ⅛ inch below the surface of the wood. Dab on a coat of rust-inhibiting primer (unless the nail is aluminum or nonrusting galvanized steel), and let it dry. Then fill the nail hole with spackle or putty. When the filler is dry, give it a coat of primer. For flathead nails, which cannot be recessed, sand the heads until they're shiny, and coat with primer.
A nail set can be used to push a popped nail head below the surface.
Covering Shrubs
Trees, bushes, and ornamental shrubs can also get in the way of your painting. Prune any branches that hang over the house or brush up against walls. Evergreen trees and tall bushes growing close to the house can be wrapped with canvas drop cloths. Tie one end of a rope around the trunk at least halfway up. Pull the top of the tree out and away from the house, and tie the other end of the rope to a stake placed farther out in the yard.
 To keep trees out of the way while you're painting, tie a rope around the trunk, and pull the tree out away from the house. Stake the other end of the rope out in the yard. |
Cover smaller shrubs, flower beds, sidewalks, and driveways with drop cloths to protect them from paint drips and spills.
Painting Siding
After you have prepped the exterior surface of your home, you're almost ready to brush, roll, or spray on a new coat of paint. First, because paint colors tend to vary slightly from batch to batch, mix all the paint together in one or two large containers. Leftover paint should go back in the original paint cans and be resealed.
Plan your painting day so you follow the sun, working in the shade after the sun has dried off the early morning moisture. Try not to let the setting sun catch you in the middle of an exterior wall at the end of the day. If you have to stop, try to finish painting an entire course of siding all the way across the house. Otherwise, you may leave lap marks in the middle of the course.
 ©2007 Publications International, Ltd. At the sides of window and door casings, jab your brush into joints, then smooth out the paint. |
If your house has dormers, you may have to paint them from the roof instead of a ladder. If so, the ladder should reach at least 3 feet above the edge of the roof so you can step onto the roof without standing on the top rungs of the ladder.
When painting either clapboard or shingles, pay special attention around door and window casings. At the top of each casing you'll find a drip cap or metal flashing that tucks up under the siding. Paint a tight seal between metal and wood. At the sides of the casings, jab your brush into joints, then smooth out the paint to seal them. At casings and for the undersides of siding laps, you may prefer to use a corner roller. Before dismounting and moving the ladder, check your work for drips, runs, thin areas, and missed spots.
Painting Exterior Trim
Painting exterior trim means you're making progress and the job is winding down. Unfortunately, painting trim is a slow process that consumes a considerable amount of time, even if you apply the same color used on the siding. Diligence and patience in dealing with these details pays off. If done carefully and thoroughly, trim painting will keep your house looking fresh and protect it from the elements for a long time. Here are some tips to make the job easier:
- When painting exterior trim, work from the top down; gables, dormers, eaves and gutters, second-story windows, porches and stairs, and foundations. If you don't want to mask around window panes, use a paint shield as you work. Scrape off any spatters and drips later.
- If you've replaced the caulking around doors, windows, and joints, make sure caulking is dry before painting over it. Use enough paint to form a tight seal between the siding and the trim to keep out moisture, wind, and insects.
- Paint exterior windows, sashes, sills, and jambs in the same order as the interior ones, working from the sashes out to the frames. Be sure to pay close attention to the windowsills. They bear the brunt of rain, snow, and accumulated dirt. If the windowsills look particularly weather beaten, take the time to give them two or even three coats of paint, including the underside edges.
- Screens and storm windows should be removed and painted separately. If the screens have holes, this is a good time to mend them or replace the screening. If the screening is sound but needs painting, coat it first (using a pad applicator), then paint the frame. Don't forget to do both sides and all edges of screens and storms.
©2007 Publications International, Ltd.
When painting an exterior door, paint the panels first, then the rails,
the stiles, and finally the edges, working from top to bottom. - Doors are easier to paint if you remove the knobs, latch plates, and door knocker. If possible, also remove the door from its frame, lay it flat, and paint one side at a time, working on recessed panels first, then raised areas. Sand the bottom and top edges, then apply a thin coat of paint to keep out moisture and prevent rot. While the door is open or off its hinges, paint the jambs and the frame and give the wooden threshold a coat of urethane varnish. Do not paint the hinges.
- Gutters and downspouts made of galvanized metal should be scraped with a wire brush to remove loose paint and then primed and painted again. On downspouts, paint in the direction of the flutes, usually up and down, to prevent runs, drips, and sags. Because some downspouts are flat on all four sides and are attached closely to the house, you may want to take them down to paint them. Consider coating the inside of gutters with an asphalt-base paint, which waterproofs the gutters and seals tiny holes and joints.
©2007 Publications International, Ltd.
For railing and ornamental metal work, use a lamb's wool mitten
applicator instead of a trim brush. - On ornamental metal work and porch railings, use a lamb's wool applicator instead of a trim brush. The mitten applicator, which can be used on either hand and is cleanable and reusable, allows you to grasp a railing support, smearing on the paint as you move your hand from top to bottom.
Want more information? Feel free to contact Golden Touch Painting and Drywall Inc.
(248) 787-0963
Whether you're a perfectionist looking for the best quality custom work or a Realtor simply looking to quickly fix up a property, you can assure Golden Touch Painting and Drywall Inc will provide the necessary services you need with golden results. We strive to be one of Michigan's leading interior and exterior painting, drywall, and carpentry companies.
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