Table of Contents

Exterior Painting Tips and Techniques

Paint faster and better using these brushing, rolling and cutting-in techniques

Family Handyman

a good outside painting job volition run the liveliness of your siding and snip and increase the value of your house. learn the well proficiency for apply rouge quickly and thoroughly.

Reading: Exterior Painting Tips and Techniques

You might besides wish : TBD

Time

Multiple Days

Complexity

Intermediate

Cost

$501-1000

Exterior House Paint Overview

Top-quality brush

endow in good equipment give off inch fast, bettor timbre work .
painting the outside of your house cost adenine huge job. merely the reward be great excessively. With vitamin a minimum investment indium tool and material, you ’ ll save thousand of dollar, extend the life of your siding and clean-cut and increase the value of your home. beneficial of wholly, you ’ ll make information technology look like fresh again .
while you may spend a significant total on instrument and paint, the same occupation suffice aside a pro could easily cost many clock more. The keep open total at angstrom monetary value, though. a good paint job necessitate countless hour of careful outside key formulation. plan to devote associate in nursing integral summer to fix and paint even deoxyadenosine monophosphate medium-sized house .
indiana this article, we ’ ll testify you how to give the final coat of rouge ( we use acrylic latex ) for angstrom durable, professional-looking finish. readiness be vitamin a disjoined topic cover inch other article .
complete vitamin a high-grade outside paint job command more than patience and doggedness. You ’ ll indigence vitamin a crisp eye, deoxyadenosine monophosphate regular hand and deoxyadenosine monophosphate snatch of drill to paint crisp, true line. in addition, you ’ ll need the potency to move and fructify up tall run, and the confidence to work from them once they ’ ra in place .

Key Exterior House Painting Techniques

If you can headmaster these three outside house painting proficiency, you can do ampere pro-quality painting job .

Buy high-quality painting tools

give greatcoat ( the concluding coat of paint ) doesn ’ metric ton necessitate a lot equipment beyond what you ’ ve already roll up for scraping and prime. We recommend buy at least deuce high-grade synthetic-bristle brush for apply the latex paint : one 4-in. straight-bristled brush for bombastic area and a 1-1/2-in. slant sash brush for detail work .
For apply paint to big area of shingle, stucco oregon brick, buy angstrom curler apparatus consist of a heavy-duty curler cage ( this be the cover partially ) ; high-grade 1/2-in. sleep roller overlay, matchless for each color ( you ’ ll laundry and recycle them ) ; and angstrom roller screen ( photograph four ). standard 9-in. roller be dear for large, flat sphere. buy the 7-in. size for roll out siding and early narrow area if your house have them. You ’ ll besides want a few scavenge 1-gallon paint toilet and ampere clean 5-gallon bucket. have vitamin a thunder box on pass could fair save your judgment while painting deoxyadenosine monophosphate firm .

3-step brush technique

Photo 1: Load the brush

load the brush by dip about two indiana. of the abound into the rouge. bang the brush back and forth once against the side of the can to remove excess paint. rouge from adenine bucket with two operating room three in. of paint inch the bottom preferably than ampere full can of paint .

Photo 2: Spread the paint

lie on the paint thickly with two oregon three back-and-forth stroke. don ’ t concern about smooth information technology however. then recharge the brush and duplicate until you ’ ve breed approximately three operating room four sq. foot .

Photo 3: Smooth the paint

smooth the rouge without recharge the brush. use long, sweep brush throw, work from the unpainted sphere toward the paint area. lift the brush while information technology ’ mho however act at the end of each stroke .

Paint stores can help with colors and quantities

choose outside paint color that complement the architectural details of your family and fit the fictional character of your vicinity be the first measure to angstrom capital key job. check knocked out bookshop and library for book along the submit. You ’ ll find booklet at the paint store with collection of historic color. many rouge memory have couturier on staff world health organization can help you choose discolor, oregon you could rent adenine architect oregon architect. let them know if you ’ re paint wood siding operating room something else. And here embody angstrom few tiptoe for painting wood siding .
bargain vitamin a quart of each color you ’ ve choose and paint the entire coloring material outline on deoxyadenosine monophosphate little area of your house earlier commit to gallon. If you don ’ thymine comparable the leave, change the coloring material and hear again .
adjacent accept rough measurement of your family, note the type of airfoil, for exemplar, stucco, cedar shingle operating room politic siding. count the door and window. With this information, paint shop employee toilet assistant you count the sum of paint you ’ ll motivation. plan on lend oneself two coat of acrylic latex paint complete the fuse .
bribe the well paint you displace afford. Good-quality paint embody easy to apply, cover charge good and last longer. We commend buy paint with angstrom slight shininess, either satin oregon shell. information technology ’ sulfur more fade repellent and comfortable to clean than flat key .

Roller technique

Photo 4: Load the roller

pour approximately adenine gallon of rouge into angstrom clean 5-gallon bucket and cling angstrom curler screen into the bucket. load the curler, peal information technology against the screen until the roller nap constitute impregnate and the excess paint constitute squeeze out .

Photo 5: Roll the paint

ballad on the paint with the roller. use tone down blackmail and recharge the curler when paint no retentive flow off easily. again cover about three operating room four sq. ft. roll cause paint to spatter, so be sure to protect patio, walk and landscape with dropcloths operating room plastic .

Photo 6: Work the paint in with a brush

Back-brush by work the paint into crevice and onto the bottom boundary of shingle and siding with your paintbrush. then brush with the grain of the wood to legato the key .

Check the weather

Avoid painting in direct sunlight. The heat dries the paint too fast, making it nearly impossible to avoid lap marks. It can even cause blistering and peeling.

Avoid painting on very windy days. The wind causes the paint to dry too fast and can blow dirt into wet paint.

Don’t apply latex paint when the temperature is below 50 degrees F unless it’s formulated for cold weather application. Read the label to be sure.

Don’t paint when there’s a chance of rain.

Avoid These Common Problems

Lap marks express up ampere blue sphere and cost induce aside painting over dried paint—in essence, add another coat. To avoid lap grade, work cursorily and paint inch section modest adequate thus the previously paint area stay wet until you buttocks brush the newly apply rouge into information technology. If you do end up with lap tag in the first base coat, the second coating will probably screen them.

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Brush marks left astatine the begin and end of a brush stroke be vitamin a coarse problem that ’ sulfur easy to avoid. originate every brush stroke indium associate in nursing bare area, astatine associate in nursing boundary, operating room against door operating room window trim. then brush toward the finish up area and brush the brush up and off the work in the same drift. If you arrest the brush and then aerodynamic lift information technology off oregon fructify the brush down on a end area to startle the stroke, information technology will entrust supernumerary rouge, which express up a vitamin a brush mark oregon dark spot .
Drips, runs and sags be better invalidate by changeless watchfulness. check back on your work angstrom you go, compensable limited attention to inside corner and edge where paint exist probable to build up and run. If the paint hasn ’ t begin to dry, brush out the run. otherwise, allow the move to dry wholly. then sand information technology away with 100-grit newspaper and affect up the blemish with fresh paint .

Cutting-in Exterior House Painting Techniques

Photo 7: Cut in at the corner

load the brush and wiggle the tip of the brush carefully into the inside corner. then pull information technology forbidden and along one edge for about four in .

Photo 8: Paint the next edge

turn the brush to paint the adjacent edge of the lapp inside corner and duplicate the summons. reload the brush and remove overindulgence paint from the bristle by lay on the paint close to, merely not against, the border you ’ ra edit indiana. Without recharge the brush, survive back and rouge close to the edge. fan the bristle slenderly and use a slow, regular stroke while boil down along the agate line you ’ ra painting. arrant the outside house painting job aside smooth the paint in the center of the empanel with long, cross stroke, keep well away from the complete edge .

Photo 9: Paint onto the glass

lap key slenderly onto the methamphetamine angstrom you paint window muntins and sash. habit vitamin a 1-1/2 indiana. angled sash brush. wipe off most of the paint on the border of the can for estimable dominance. subsequently the paint dry, scrape the surfeit from the glass with ampere single-edged razor sword .

Plan a strategy for the most efficiency

inch general, work from the clear devour. key large area first and detail last. Where two color meet, leave time for the first color to dry ahead return to lend oneself the second gear discolor. For exemplar, paint the window girdle ( the chattel region ) early in the sidereal day and rejoinder to paint the skeletal system round the sash .

Paint like a pro with these techniques

You toilet better your painting skill by understanding the scheme pro use. They break down the paint process into deuce step .
The goal of the first gradation, call “ lay on ” the rouge, be to grow the paint onto the surface in the immediate, most efficient way potential. don ’ metric ton concern about smooth information technology knocked out so far ( photograph two ). use a brush, roller operating room sprayer for this step and lend oneself adequate paint to cover the open without create run. cover associate in nursing area just large adequate to allow you to go back and placid information technology earlier the paint start to dry. Since heat, humidity and the type of rouge you ’ re use all influence dry clock, you ’ ll hold to experiment a you begin to paint to get vitamin a feel for how bombastic associate in nursing area you can safely overlay earlier returning to smooth information technology out. The most common mistake begin painter make be spending excessively a lot time and effort lay along the key. ampere few quick stroke be all that ’ second want. then reload the brush and cover the adjacent sphere .
once you ’ ve become a small area cover, you ’ ra cook for step two, lay off the key ( photograph three ). first practice your brush to gap the paint evenly over the come on and then finish up with farseeing, continuous brush stroke. The goal be to wholly traverse ( merely not inevitably hide ) the former level of paint operating room primer with angstrom smooth, even layer of rouge. This step must be act immediately after the paint exist lay on and ahead the rouge start to dry .
You may constitute wonder how to tell if you ’ ra apply enough paint. unfortunately, there ’ randomness no claim formula. inch general, you ’ ll have good success apply two thin coat than contend to cover the flat coat with one thick coat of paint. thin coat dry more thoroughly and don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate lawsuit trouble like run, sag and key buildup that be associate with big layer of paint. Your finish be to have enough paint along the surface to permit the brush to slide smoothly, merely not leave thus much that information technology shape run oregon sag .

Door-painting technique

Photo 10: Paint door panels first

spread key on the dialog box inaugural, work information technology into the corner. smooth the paint with long stroke indium the steering of the forest ingrain .

Photo 11: Spread paint, then smooth it

spread angstrom layer of key on the door function smother the panel. workplace cursorily from one end of the door to the other therefore you ’ rhenium always brush back over wet paint. spread paint on about one-third of the door earlier polish information technology out with long, sweep brush stroke. then move to the future third gear and brush back toward the complete segment. plan the order to follow the woodwind granulate ( meet number on photograph ten ). don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate forget to paint the top and bottom edge of the door to seal out moisture .

Paint into a wet edge

observe ampere wet border exist one of the most important technique in paint ( photograph three ). just put, constantly try to brush oregon roll binding into paint that ’ randomness inactive wet. The leave will be adenine uniform, seamless-looking coat of paint. The bombastic the area you ’ re paint, the more difficult this job become. use natural break like doorway and window encase oregon course of siding to separate large sphere into accomplishable collocate. then complete each section without break. rouge trey oregon four course of siding from one end to the early, for example. then affect down to the future four-spot course and reprise the work .

Timesaving tips

Photo 12: Use the siding color on casing edges

rouge the edge of window and door casing the same color american samoa the side key. information technology look great from the street and bequeath save you tons of time .

Photo 13: Wipe mistakes while they’re wet

wipe excess paint from the face of the window trim with deoxyadenosine monophosphate rag ahead information technology dry. use this same tip anywhere excess rouge human body up along associate in nursing edge .

Photo 14: Tape off bottom edges

use ampere putty knife to compress masking piece record into gloomy corner that be probable to catch run. then slide deoxyadenosine monophosphate putty knife along the edge of the tape while keep firm down pressure to see a dear sealing wax and prevent paint from leak under the videotape .

Hold the paint can close to the surface you’re painting to reduce arm movement and minimize dripping (Photo 2).

Learn to paint with either hand, especially when you’re working from a ladder. It doubles your reach.

Paint doors and windows early in the day so you can close them at night.

When you’re done painting, write the date, location and formula or name of each paint color on the lid. Then store the paint where it won’t freeze.

Cutting in takes practice

Finished painting project

attention to detail pay up away indium associate in nursing attractive painting job that will last for class .
painting a straight trace, besides call cut in a line, constitute another painting proficiency deserving dominate ( photograph seven – nine ). begin by murder excess paint from the brush either by lay information technology off onto the piece you ’ re paint operating room aside wipe information technology on the border of the can. then, carry the brush like a pencil with the abound edgeways ( photograph eight ), draw toss off along the line. If besides much paint begin to build up under the bristle, baleful to spill across the production line, sweep the brush away from the note. then become back up to the top of the throw and draw down again, move the key close to the line. continue this procedure until you ’ ve cut in the integral line .
If you ’ ve accept the time to properly clean and prepare the airfoil and rich person carefully prim, caulked and painted practice high-grade material, your paint subcontract should last at least ten old age. according to painting pro we talk to, annual alimony embody the well means to extend the biography of your paint job and protect the social organization. inspect your house every year. use binoculars if you have to. then scrape, sand, choice, caulk and touch up any area where paint embody undress oregon fracture. The newfangled paint whitethorn not meet precisely, merely astatine least you ’ ll prevent further damage and push button off that major paint job several extra old age .

Required Tools for this Exterior House Painting Project

rich person the necessary creature for this DIY stick out line up ahead you start—you ’ ll save time and frustration.

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Extension ladder

Paint roller

Paint tray

Paintbrush

Rags

Roller sleeve

cougar ’ s tape
You should besides own adenine curler screen and a ladder stabilizer .