How To Paint Exteriors Painting your house will not only improve its looks, it will also protect it from the elements. In a country with weather like ours, that’s important ... Read The Full Guide More Popular Guides ... How To Build a Timber Deck How To Replace Guttering How To Use Paint Rollers How To Lay Pavers

How much paint?

 

For outside walls, multiply length by height to gauge the area in square metres, then subtract door and window areas from the total. To determine window and door areas, multiply their width by their height. One litre of paint will cover approximately 14 square metres (check the paint can as this can vary between brands), but allow an extra 20% for rough or porous surfaces, and an extra 10% for weatherboard edges.

 

Preparation

 

The first thing is to take a long critical look at your house to see what needs to be done. Look for any defects that may affect the final finish. It’s important to fix every fault before you begin, as the faults and defects tend to be magnified when painted. There’s no point spending time and money on a paint job that will soon flake and look bad.

 

When preparing a house for painting, be aware of the possibility of lead-based paint. It’s not possible to identify lead-based paint by appearance, but if a building is more than 25 years old it is best to assume that it has been painted with lead-based paint and is a health risk, so suitable precautions need to be taken. You can do a sodium sulphate test to check for lead-based paint if you’re unsure. A lot of domestic accidents involve ladders so secure ladders safely. Lean the ladder so that the base is one metre from the wall for every four metres of height and tie it securely

 

	Handy Hints Record the brand name, type of paint and any colour mix details. When it's time to touch-up or recoat, you'll be able to reorder the right paint. Now's a good time to remove and replace hardened or cracked putty in windows and fill exterior gaps, especially those caused by movement between bricks and concrete. Use a flexible sealant.

 

Painted surfaces

All peeling paint must be scraped or wire brushed away, then primed. Use a heat gun to soften the old paint, so it’s easy to scrape off with a stripping knife or scraper. Use a chemical stripper around windows as a heat stripper may crack the glass. Fill cracks and holes - use an exterior filler for brick and concrete, and a flexible filler for timber. Sand the filler level with the surface. Thoroughly sand the whole area to be painted to clear any uneven spots and give the new paint a slightly roughened surface it can stick to, especially if the existing paint is a gloss enamel. Exposed nail heads, if they are not galvanised, should be punched below the surface and the holes filled and sanded smooth to prevent rust stains. Use a sugar soap to remove all grease, dirt and dust. Rust on metal guttering, down pipes, gates or metal window frames (not aluminium) should be cleaned away with a wire brush and the metal coated with a rust dissolver. Gutter leaks should be repaired and sealed with a silicone sealant. This will give a long lasting weatherproof seal.

 

	Handy Hints Doors are painted from the outside in, doing the moulding first. Paint the edges, then the face, returning to the edges to lightly feather off any surplus paint with the tip of the brush. You'll probably be using an enamel here, so it's better to remove the door completely and paint on trestles. And you'll save a lot of fiddling by removing the door handles, locks etc.

 

 

GETTING IT DONE   Buy the best painting tools you can afford. Good brushes and rollers, properly looked after, will give you years of service, speed up the job and give superior results.   Likewise, a top quality roller will cover a 45% greater area per loading, plus give a better finish. This saves a lot of time and, long term, money. The first step is to mix the paint thoroughly. Use a flat paddle stick or a ruler and stir from the bottom upwards (not just around,) until the paint is smooth and colour is even. Use a roller if possible on flat surfaces as paint will go on five times faster than with a brush. Paint pads, especially 100mm or 180mm sizes, are an excellent alternative to brushes and rollers on smooth exterior cladding and weatherboards.   After coating about one square metre, even out the paint by lightly rolling across the surface with an almost dry roller. Always work from the unpainted area back into the painted area, maintaining a wet edge to avoid lap marks. Be sure to prime any new or exposed metal on gutters and downpipes before painting. For windows, start by cutting in around the glass with a small brush, then use a larger brush for the surrounding frame. Use masking tape along the glass edge to give a clean finish     When to paint   Outside painting should only be done in temperatures between 10° and 40°C. In summer, the best way is to follow the sun around your home and paint only on the shady side. Hot sun will dry out the surface too quickly, which may cause the paint to wrinkle. If conditions are hot and you are using acrylic paint, you can hose down the surface to cool it, then paint while the surface is still damp and cool. However, if you are using a solvent-based enamel paint, the surface must be completely dry. The ideal time to paint is about an hour after sunrise when the dew has had a chance to dry out and at least two hours before sunset or the onset of rain. Even a small amount of moisture trapped under a solvent-based enamel will vaporise and cause blisters and peeling. Again, always paint on the shady side, never in the sun.

 

 

 

	Handy Hints New bare timber should be primed first, then cracks and holes filled with an exterior wood filler such as Poly Woodflex, sanded smooth and dusted down. Brick and cement render should be rubbed down to remove loose material. Cracks/holes should be filled with an exterior filler, sanded, dusted and undercoated so repairs won't show.

 

	Handy Hints Metal gates, gutters and downpipes should be washed with turpentine and coated with an all purpose metal primer. Select a sealant which can be painted over. Think about using a transparent sealant that will be virtually invisible.

 

 

CLEAN UP

 

Clean brushes and rollers in turpentine if you’ve been working with solvent-based paints; clean in water if you’ve been using water-based paints. Work brushes in the turpentine cleaner or water until all the paint has been flushed out. Make sure you get all the paint out of the ferrule (this is the metal plate that secures the bristles in place) as this will increase the life of your brush. Flush out rollers under running water or by working turpentine through the nap. Then wash in warm soapy water and rinse well. Always store brushes flat or hanging up, never standing on the bristles. Rollers should be set on end or hung up to dry, otherwise the nap of the roller is flattened.