Any advice on DIY exterior house painting?

[Arugula Latte]

I'm sure there are some tips that we don't know about before we go down this road ... Thanks!

[pscot]

1. The better the prep

the better the paint job. Buy plenty of beer. You're gonna be out there in the hot sun for a week or more

[Arugula Latte]

4. Thanks.

Looks like perfect painting weather this week -- high 70s (maybe low 80s) and dry heat. Oregon in summer is heaven.

[Warpy]

7. Also do the hard to reach spots you're dreading first

because they will be harder to do and you might hurt yourself after the beer has a chance to work.

[mbperrin]

2. First, find out what kind of paint is on the house now - latex or oil-base.

You can paint oil base onto latex, but never latex onto oil - it will just peel off. usually you will paint the same base, whether latex or oil.

2. Scrape, using a filter mask, any loose paint. I really don't advise sanding - it will blister the paint around it if it's latex, and those long chain molecules in oil base are very bad for you.

3. Use a good caulk, a 35 year or better exterior grade.

4. Set all nails that are loose or up.

5. You are never going to spray, a roller and brush are your best friends, and get a good one of each - go to Sherwin Williams or another pro shop and buy at least 1 4" brush and at least one 2" sash brush, both in very good quality. No tape - you bought good brushes so that you can flow paint up to, not onto, paint breaks, glass barriers, brick, and other changeups.

6. Take your time - buy all your paint in one lot so you don't have shade errors.

This is very basic, but will help give you a beautiful and long-lasting job. Pat yourself on the back when you're done - you will have saved an average labor cost of $400 per gallon of paint applied!

Hope this helps.

[Arugula Latte]

5. Thanks. Good to know!!

[Adsos Letter]

11. I would seriously avoid painting oil over latex, especially on an exterior.

Latex paints are way more flexible and expansive than oil-base coatings, especially over time. You are asking for trouble if you do that.

You can paint latex over oil-base as long as the oil-base coating is still well bonded, but you will need to sand and prime first.

[RevStPatrick]

3. Guy is sitting in a bar...

...and this gorgeous woman walks in and looks around.
She's wearing short shorts and a tight halter top.
Simply stunning!
She sits down next to the guy and starts playing with his hair.
Then she whispers in his ear, "Sweetie, I'll do ANYTHING you ask for a hundred bucks, but only if you tell me what you want in exactly three words!"
He thinks about it for a moment and then looks at her and says:

"Paint. My. House."

[Arugula Latte]

6. Hah! Good thinking, dude!

[Fumesucker]

8. It's generally easier to paint your trim first and cut the wall paint up to the trim

That way you can go ahead and let the trim paint come onto the wall a bit and cover it up later with the wall paint on the flat rather than having to cut over an edge to an inside corner like on the side of your windows where they meet the siding.

If the trim is good and dry and something like a semi gloss the flatter wall paint will wipe off it while still wet if you make a mistake and cut too far onto it. The other way around doesn't wipe so well, flat paint absorbs another color enough where it's hard to wipe off.

Keep a wet rag around and only dip the end of your brush into the paint, once paint is running down the brush handle onto your hand it's time to go clean the brush, all you're going to do is get paint all over everything at that juncture.

A 1" deep or so dip and a *gentle* slap on either side of the work pot to clear the drips off and you're ready to put paint on with the brush. Larger areas the paint can be rolled on and then worked into the pores of the siding with a brush if you really want a superior job. Don't try to roll the roller too dry, keep it fairly well loaded up with paint and dip it fairly often, once you roll the fibers on the nap flat rolling too dry the roller won't pick up and hold paint as well.

If you are changing colors be aware that when paint goes on the wall it looks about two shades more vivid in color than the chip you look at in the store.

[Arugula Latte]

12. Good to know! Thanks!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

9. Use a good quality paint.

The pros don't use Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams because they enjoy spending extra money. They do it to save labor of unnecessary extra coats. For pros, time is money. For non-pros time is bad backs, blisters, sweat and tears.

[Adsos Letter]

10. Over a period of 35 years, our company used (primarily) Sherwin-Williams for exterior work

followed by Fuller-O'brien's "Weather King" (FOB has since gone out of business, unfortunately. They produced some excellent coatings).

Along with the quality you mentioned comes the benefit of consistency, and the familiarity with a material line that gives a painter confidence in what will work, and what won't. We often had to push the envelope in application, and consistency and familiarity were crucial to that.

One of the other benefits for contractors in using the big name brands is in volume pricing. What we paid for a gallon of Sherwin-Williams "SuperPaint," after several thousand gallons puchased, was enough to make the paint rep cry on large orders.

[Arugula Latte]

13. Makes sense, thanks.

We live in Oregon so we need something that can take A LOT of moisture.

[Adsos Letter]

14. What style is your house?

Stucco? Stucco and wood trim? Wood siding? It makes a difference in your material choices, and prep.

[Arugula Latte]

15. Entirely wood, with a concrete base.

[Lugnut]

16. My husband found a very easy way to paint the house.

He hired a friend of his who is a union painter. He was meticulous and did all the trim by hand. A man has to know his limitations and hubs knew his.

Honestly, using good quality paint and doing the dreaded prep work is the only way to go.

[Arugula Latte]

17. Thanks. I am going to make sure we prep enough.

My husband is more the "let's just get it done now" type and that doesn't always go well.

[Lugnut]

18. Mine is too.

He never wants to prep or do any of the essentials before attempting to paint. I've been doing all of the painting around here and I know what it takes to do things right from the start. Yes, it's boring and tedious but you have to suck it up and get to it.