DIY Exterior Painting Tips

It's summer and soon there will be many rain-free days to do some DIY exterior painting. Here are some tips to help you do a painting job well.

The first thing is always preparation. If the existing paint is latex, sand it lightly. If it's cracked or oil base, you should probably assume it's lead and have a licensed deleader scrape away the loose stuff. Don't sand oil paint unless you're sure it's not lead. After the surface is free of loose bits, wash it with Trisodium Phosphate, or TSP. This is a deglosser and degreaser, and will ensure that your surface is free of pollen, dust, or other contaminants. For large surfaces, buying a sponge-on-a-mop can help you wash and rinse much more quickly than hand sponging.

Priming is always a good idea. You can use an oil or a latex primer on anything. There are some primers that even have the ability to seal over alligatored paint. Once you start using latex, you can only use latex on top of it.

Good brush technique is essential. When loading a brush with paint or stain, dip it into the paint but do not then scrape it against the edge of the paint can. Beat it gently against the interior wall of the paint can. This will send all the paint into the bristles and eliminate drips. It will also let each brush hold lot more paint.

The second thing about brush technique is cutting in. It is not necessary to tape along edges. Use a chisel point brush and let the longer bristles cut into the edge and leave a little bead of paint. You can get right up to vinyl or another surface without first taping it. Tape rarely seals against exterior surfaces anyway. The same technique saves a lot of setup time when painting indoors as well.

Your cleanup will be much easier if you wear latex or rubber nitrile gloves, and set down a layer of plastic and cloth. Some drop cloths sold at the big box stores have the two layers bonded together. The plastic prevents the paint from seeping through and the cloth absorbs drips.

If there are drips, clean them up immediately with the appropriate solvent (water or mineral spirits).

Cleaning up after latex painting is easy, and oil painting is actually not much harder. The step-by-step instructions here are tested and work well.

Check the forecast for a period when you'll have enough rain-free time to finish the project. Good luck!