One of the challenges of outdoor painting is the wide range of surfaces and materials you need to consider in your selection of paint. From aluminum siding, wood shingles, cedar shakes, brick, concrete, stucco, and existing old paint, conditions vary and without the proper product to suit each different surface, you may end up redoing the entire job. We do not want this to happen as exterior paints are more expensive than interior paints and on top of that you also have to factor in weather conditions, work conditions. Your budget can easily get out of control if proper planning was not done. To help you with this process, we recommend you consider the following tips. If anything is unclear, do not hesitate to contact us for clarification.
- Consider using the same type of paint you used before (especially if you can see that it has performed well over the years). Similar to interior paints, latex works best over latex and alkyd works best over alkyd. If you are not sure what type of paint is on the house, use an alkyd-base paint.
- Latex paints dry quickly & are easier to apply. They also breathe well which means moisture problems will be kept to a minimum. However, they do not adhere to oilbase or alkyd-base paints, or poorly prepared surfaces as well.
- Alkyds are very durable but difficul to work with and they dry slowly. Further to clean alkyd paints off brushes, rollers, paint trays, ect. you have to use solvents.
- Prepare surface so you have a clean and dry base.
- PRIME – this plays a critical role in interior and exterior painting. An alkyd or latex-based primer is recommended for solid wood, shingles, exterior house walls, doors, windows, trim fences, etc. Latex primer is recommended for hardboard siding and patios as it prevents superficial splitting & cracking of plywood.
For information on how to prevent or fix common paint problems read our post on it.
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