Exterior (House ) Painting Questions

[49erinnc]

I've done a ton of interior painting but never exterior so forgive my ignorance on this one.

I'm not at all in love with the colors the previous owner chose so I'm considering painting my house myself this Spring. Not a huge house but it would definitely be quite the undertaking. I could take my time though so it's not something I'm worried about rushing through. My house has wood siding (the wide vertical boards). And my question is, what's the best way to paint under those circumstances? Would you use a power sprayer? Brush? Coarse roller??

Keep in mind that my boards are kind of overlaped so like every other board is about 1/4" inch deeper set than the next one. So it may be tough using a roller because I'm not sure all the board edges would get hit well. The thought of doing my entire house with a brush is a scary thought.

Also, the current coat of paint on the house is in good condition, just not a favorable color. Could I simply just slap the new coat on? Or would I have to prime? And do most exterior paint jobs require 2 base coats, 1 prime/1 base or just 1 base?

Thanks

 

[OdiN]

Well it all depends. For best coverage you should use a brush. However, depending on the texture you may be able to use a roller and fill in the indents with the brush. Power sprayer should work fine if you have one, though you may still have to do some fill in work and edging.

You could just put a new coat on, but it depends on the colors and if the old color will show through the new paint. You will want 2 coats, so whether you do 2 coats of the color or one primer/one color is up to you. Prime it if there is an issue with the color showing through.

 

[wedi42]

i read one magazine article where a painter guaranteed his work for life.
he filled all cracks with caulk, repaired any water damage.
the part i never heard of before was he used a power sprayer to apply the paint, but then used a brush to force the paint into all the little cracks in the wood

whatever you do, don't use the wagner power sprayers. rent a good one.

 

[JulesMaximus]

We had our house painted last summer. Cost us $2600 for the entire house including eaves. Basically they came in and masked off all the windows and sprayed the house. Took two days to complete. Our house is 2200 sq ft and two stories so there was no way I was going to do it myself.

 

[squirrel dog]

Use a power sprayer,then go back with a brush to give it the brushed look,also gets the paint into every nook,cranny.

 

[49erinnc]

Originally posted by: squirrel dog
Use a power sprayer,then go back with a brush to give it the brushed look,also gets the paint into every nook,cranny.

Seems like a lot of work by spraying it and then brushing it. If a brushed look is required, then I'd almost opt to only brush it all. The boards are the grainy type with a lot of texture. So I think that even using a power sprayer would result in a nice finish. I saw that Home Depot (maybe Lowes) was selling a nice power sprayer for around a buck fifty. Seems like it would be a quick and effective way to paint. My home is around 2,000 sq. feet but one level so it shouldn't be too bad except in the back where it's about 20' high and oddly shaped.

I'm kind of leaning towards brush painting the trim and also using a brush to paint the borders of the siding so that if I use a power sprayer, I won't have to spray all the way up to the trim. The base coat now is somewhat of a "dirty yellow" color but it's pretty light. I was gonna go with a semi-dark blue so I'm thinking I could get away without priming.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: 49erinnc

Originally posted by: squirrel dog
Use a power sprayer,then go back with a brush to give it the brushed look,also gets the paint into every nook,cranny.

Seems like a lot of work by spraying it and then brushing it. If a brushed look is required, then I'd almost opt to only brush it all. The boards are the grainy type with a lot of texture. So I think that even using a power sprayer would result in a nice finish. I saw that Home Depot (maybe Lowes) was selling a nice power sprayer for around a buck fifty. Seems like it would be a quick and effective way to paint. My home is around 2,000 sq. feet but one level so it shouldn't be too bad except in the back where it's about 20' high and oddly shaped.

I'm kind of leaning towards brush painting the trim and also using a brush to paint the borders of the siding so that if I use a power sprayer, I won't have to spray all the way up to the trim. The base coat now is somewhat of a "dirty yellow" color but it's pretty light. I was gonna go with a semi-dark blue so I'm thinking I could get away without priming.

Whenever you get your paint, paint a patch in the back of your house, let it dry then do the second coat and let it dry. See how it looks.

Also one way to do edging with a sprayer, depending on what is around the edge: Take a 1x6 or something similar, hold it up right on the edge and then spray. That way you don't have to mess with taping and crap, you won't have to brush the edges if the sprayer coats well. Just wear some gloves if you don't want paint on your hands.

Obviously that won't work if the edge isn't straight or whatever is around the edge isn't mostly flush.

 

[sohcrates]

See if you can still find some oil-based exterior paint...will last longer than latex

i've repainted my trim, but never tackled the whole house. some things are better left to pros with big ladders...

 

[49erinnc]

Originally posted by: sohcrates

i've repainted my trim, but never tackled the whole house. some things are better left to pros with big ladders...

I love DIY projects so I don't mind doing the job to save a couple thousand bucks. I have a double garage, two windows and a front door on the front of the house so I figure I could probably knock all of that out in one weekend so that from a onlooker's viewpoint, the house will look good. Then I can tackle the sides and back as time allows.

I'd rather do minimal taping so I like the idea of using the edging board when spraying. Though I'll still probably mask off all the windows/doors just to be safe.

 

[jupiter57]

Whenever I paint anything with a rough texture, cracks, etc., I use a really thick (1" - 1 1/4") napped roller.
They are heavier when loaded with paint, but that weight is all paint, less dipping. You can force a lot of paint into cracks with them, too.
Use a good quality "Roller Extension Pole" that you screw the end of the roller onto.
Also, the pros use 5 gallon buckets and a "roller screen" found at any paint store, just dip the roller, run it up and down the screen a couple of times to knock off the excess.
I've been lucky in that 26 years of consruction I've seen a LOT of painting and learned by watching, asking, and even sometimes helping.
As far as primer, you may need it if your old paint is "Shiny" or glossy, most times new paint doesn't want to stick to the gloss and will peel (I learned this the hard way years ago after painting the trim on a neighbors house, old paint was still kinda glossy, I just painted right over it. By the following summer, it was peeling in SHEETS!)
Ask at the Paint store about what you are doing, of course they'll try to sell you something, (If you do need primer, have the store tint it the same color, white primer is hard to cover in 1 coat!) The new Acrylics are usually "their own best primer", as a painter told me once.

 

[farmercal]

whatever you do, don't use the wagner power sprayers. rent a good one.

I have used the Wagner paint sprayers with excellent results! In fact, I painted the entire ceiling in my previous house with a Wagner and you couldn't tell my job from that of a professional painter. The trick with a Wagner is to clean it up entirely before you put it away and most people don?t.

Now to the OP: I have painted the inside and outside of my previous house. I painted the outside the first time with a Wagner sprayer and it work fine and filled in all nooks and crannies perfectly. The problem is overspray, which means you have to tape newspaper or an equivalent over the windows and trim to prevent painting everything one color. When I painted the trim, eaves, and facing using a brush took forever but the sprayer did the job in no time.

Recently I sold the house but before I sold it I painted the entire front of the house (which was the same siding as you described in your post) and it took me about a day to paint it with a brush. The brush does take a little longer but you also don't have to worry about getting paint where it doesn't belong. Usually good paint covers in one coat and there is normally need to use a primer. When I painted the ceiling I had to use some Kilz before painting some spots that got stained from a leak at one time but that was the only place I used it.

You can do it without much hassle and you will get a lot of satisfaction from doing it yourself. Good Luck.

 

[ManyBeers]

If the current paint job is in good condition just go over it. You need to spray and then "backroll'(immediately after spraying an area of about 100 sq. ft. take your roller with paint on it and roll out the section) to get a good even texture with no "holidays". One good coat the way I have stated here is all the building will need. I have painted many exteriors and this is how myself and other professionals I know do it.

 

[bctbct]

If you are painting the exterior you should power wash the house first. It removes loose paint and dirt. Careful not to get to close with the wand as it will damage the wood.

Sprayer will be the fastest but requires alot of masking off. Becarful of wind because overspray will travel a long way. When you spray you need to back roll or back brush to help the adhesion.

Depending on how rough the surface is it will require up to a 1" nap. I would avoid going above that on siding because it will really add a lot more texture.

Spraying makes it much easier because it applies the material and then you simply roll it without having to keep dipping the roller.

If you rent a sprayer make sure that you indicate what you are doing with it. The pump should be at least 3/4 hp and support at least a .017 tip. Exterior paint is heavier and will not do well with a smaller tip than that. .019 is optimal of exterior paints.

 

[DaveJ]

On a related note, any tips on painting brick? The idiots who originally built my house painted the red brick white, and that was 30 years ago. Now it's about half worn off and looks like crap. I'd really like to repaint the brick along with the rest of the house.

Dave

 

[bctbct]

Originally posted by: DaveJ
On a related note, any tips on painting brick? The idiots who originally built my house painted the red brick white, and that was 30 years ago. Now it's about half worn off and looks like crap. I'd really like to repaint the brick along with the rest of the house.

Dave

I would diffently power wash the heck out of it. Watch the joints though they will erode. Many latex paints may be suitable, but a masonary paint would probably be better. Each case is probaby different enough I would seek advice from a paint store (not hardware store)

The best brick I ever saw was a mansion that was painted white, it was powerwashed/ soda blasted. The remaining paint had a faded look but was uniform with brick showing through. Then they put a fresh coat of white back on....ugh