DIY Network

Exterior Painting Exterior Painting From "Trade School" episode DTRS-105

Figure A

In this segment, Louis takes on the heavy lifting of the painting world: exterior painting. While many homeowners feel confident enough to take on their own interior painting projects, most people tend to call on professional painters when the time comes to paint the outside of their homes. It's a decision that can have a big impact on a home's value; the increase in the curb appeal can raise a home's price tag by up to $10,000.

In this project, Louis must summon all his skills to turn an ugly duckling into a swan. This hundred-year-old house has a faded green facade and significant water damage at the base of the eaves (figure A). If Louis does his job right, he'll not only improve the look of the house, but also protect it from further weather damage and prolong the life of the exterior ....

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Basic Tools:

Power washer
Scraper/Putty knife
Painter's caulk
Paint shield
Paper taper
Primer
Paint
Paint gun
Small roller
Paintbrush

• Just as with interior painting projects, the first step in preparing an exterior for new paint is to make sure the surface is clean. For most homes, a power washer is the perfect tool for this. Louis uses a power washer to clean dirt and loose paint on the old garage doors for this house (figure B). He keeps the wand in constant motion because at 2700 PSI, this water will bore a hole into the wood if it sits in one spot for too long (figure C).

  Figure B

  Figure C

  
  

• On the house, the area to be painted is covered in century-old hand cut gingerbread shingles (figure D). The shingles are brittle and fragile and would not withstand the pressure of the power washer. Instead of power washing, Louis hand scrapes each shingle with a scraper or putty knife (figure E). This is the messiest and most strenuous part of the prep. He does not need to scrap off all of the old paint, but he must remove the loose paint chips in order to minimize the risk of bubbles or chips in his new paint job.

  Figure D

  Figure E

  
  

• Paint won't stick to the bare wood he reveals, so once he’s done scraping he uses a roller to apply primer over all the bare spots on the eave (figure F). He must also apply painter’s caulk to any cracks and holes he finds in order to keep weather out (figure G). He uses his finger to smooth out the bead of caulk.

  Figure F

  Figure G

  
  

• On this house, there is one more repair Louis must complete before his prep work is done. Over years and years the water damage has rotted away the bottom row of shingles, leaving a gap between the eave and the brick house that allows water to seep in (figure H). The best solution would be to replace these shingles with new ones, but that would be very costly. A more economical fix, albeit more temporary, is to install flashing on the bottom of the eave that weatherproofs the gap and will act as a rain gutter (figure I).

  Figure H

  Figure I

  
  

  Louis and his mentor, Chuck, screw the flashing into the shingles (figure J) and caulk the top to create a seal between the flashing and the siding (figure K).

  Figure J

  Figure K

  
  

• With that done, Louis is ready to paint. For exterior work, professional painters use paint guns to spray the paint on quickly and evenly (figure L). Like the power washer, this paint gun sprays at more than 2,000 PSI, so it is extremely dangerous if any body part comes between the spray nozzle and the house. The pressure is high enough to put paint through the skin and down to the bone, so Louis needs to be very cautious as he paints the first layer of gray over the home's facade (figure M).

  Figure L

  Figure M

  
  

  Figure N

• Once the eave is covered in the first layer of paint, Louis goes back over the entire surface with a small roller, performing a technique called backrolling (figure N). He rolls upward over the surface of each shingle in order to push paint into the minute nooks and crannies, creating a seal. Without this step, air bubbles trapped under the new layers of paint could cause chipping in mere months.
  

• Once the main color dries, Louis prepares to paint the trim white. He uses a paper taper to mask the main gray from the windows and the trim (figure O). Because the paint gun sprays a wide stream of paint, masking tape alone will not protect the gray from the white, so an extra six inches of newsprint beefs up the shield (figure P). Then, with the paint gun re-loaded with white paint, Louis sprays the trim (figure Q).

  Figure O

  Figure P

  Figure Q

  
  

  Figure R

• On this house the color plan calls for a third and final accent color on the exterior: a darker gray along the windowsills and picket trim. Louis goes back once more with the paper taper to mask off the main gray and the white trim from the area to be painted (figure R).
  

  With dark gray paint loaded into the paint gun, Louis sprays the trim (figure S) and then back rolls it to avoid drips (figure T).

  Figure S

  Figure T

  
  

  Once all the paint is dry, Louis removes the tape and paper (figure U) to reveal a job well done (figure V).

Instructor Contact Information:

Apex Paint
Chuck Pugliese
5312 Sandra Way
303-467-3166

Figure U

Figure V