How To Prepare Siding For Exterior Painting

Begin by hosing down the siding.

How to prepare siding for exterior painting. Before you begin to paint the exterior of a house mask windows and doors with heavy plastic or builder s paper and lay drop cloths on the ground. Have you ever wondered if you can paint aluminum siding. Be sure to wear gloves while doing this. Give the surface a full day to dry before moving on.

Chemical strippers can be used to loosen paint from intricate moldings. Nearly half of the house painting process is preparation. Lightly sand glossy finishes to remove the sheen called scuff sanding but sand scrape or cut into the surface only as much as is necessary to correct problems. Before you open that paint can follow these steps to guarantee your exterior paint will look great and be sure to last.

Use a hook scraper to remove loose paint. Some of the preparation guidelines include use a 300 degree steam cleaner a rental item or scrub the siding with a very hot detergent solution. 5 soak an abrasive sponge in the solution and scrub the siding. Keep the sander moving at all times to avoid sanding a depression into the siding.

If you choose to use any chemicals complete a final rinse to remove remaining materials because residual chemicals can be damaging to your painting process. The best way to get this siding clean is to power wash it. Check the label to be sure it s recommended for metal siding. The key to painting aluminum siding is to get it really clean and to use 100 percent acrylic latex paint.

Expect to pay the premium for good paint. Sand rust from nail heads then set and caulk the nail holes. You can use a pressure washer for this job but keep the pressure low and the nozzle away from the siding to avoid eroding the wood and driving water into cracks and crevices. Or you could wash it by hand with tsp or a similar product available at home centers and paint stores and rinse it thoroughly.

Clean the wood surface thoroughly. Nearly half of the house painting process is preparation. There s more to exterior painting than coming up with paint color schemes. Priming all bare wood caulking fillers sealing trim allowing primer to properly dry.

Mix 1 cup 240 ml of chlorine bleach with 1 cup 240 ml of trisodium phosphate tsp and 1 gallon 3 78 liters of water. Washing alone is often not enough to remove mold or mildew from the surface. In spots where wood is uneven try a putty knife which is less likely to damage wood. Replace or fill badly damaged areas.

Another key step preparing trim for paint is priming. Use a molding scraper to remove paint from convex shapes. When you re satisfied with the wood s appearance rinse the exterior from top to bottom with a garden hose. Feather sand the edges of sound well adhered paint down to bare wood.