How To Prepare Siding For Exterior Painting

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.

How to prepare siding for exterior painting.

Keep the sander moving at all times to avoid sanding a depression into the siding. Nearly half of the house painting process is preparation. Be sure to wear gloves while doing this. 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.

Or you could wash it by hand with tsp or a similar product available at home centers and paint stores and rinse it thoroughly. Use a molding scraper to remove paint from convex shapes. To summarize prepping exterior trim for paint sanding filler caulking edges where trim meets another substrate allowing to dry. Another key step preparing trim for paint is priming.

Begin by hosing down the siding. When you re satisfied with the wood s appearance rinse the exterior from top to bottom with a garden hose. Have you ever wondered if you can paint aluminum siding. 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.

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. There s more to exterior painting than coming up with paint color schemes. The best way to get this siding clean is to power wash it. Feather sand the edges of sound well adhered paint down to bare wood.

Priming all bare wood caulking fillers sealing trim allowing primer to properly dry. Use a long handled scrubber brush and a mild detergent to gently scrub away accumulated dirt grime mold and other residue. Check the label to be sure it s recommended for metal siding. 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.

Replace or fill badly damaged areas. Expect to pay the premium for good paint. In spots where wood is uneven try a putty knife which is less likely to damage wood. Washing alone is often not enough to remove mold or mildew from the surface.

Use a hook scraper to remove loose paint. 5 soak an abrasive sponge in the solution and scrub the siding. 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. Sand rust from nail heads then set and caulk the nail holes. Clean the wood surface thoroughly. The key to painting aluminum siding is to get it really clean and to use 100 percent acrylic latex paint.