We have some
pretty tough winters here in Western New York and it sure does take its toll on
exterior wood.
My garage
door was in bad shape, cracking and peeling paint made the door a real eyesore.
So I decided to fix it up with a fresh coat of paint, and here is how I did it.
Preparing the surface:
First I had
to decide what type of paint that I wanted to use. I choose a white latex
satin, your tools will clean very nicely with soap and warm water after use.
Next step
was scraping the old peeling paint, for this I used a combination of small putty knives and a wire brush.
Only scrape
the peeling paint, if you force it you may dig into the wood surface.
If you have
any areas that are mildewed mix a solution of 2-parts bleach to 1-part water.
Use a rough scrubbing pad and wear rubber gloves to scrub off the mildew.
After
scraping take some 120 grid sand paper and try to blend in where the bare wood
meets the old paint.
Then brush
off the surface to remove any remaining paint chips and dust, I used an old
paint brush for this.
Next step is
to paint all of the bare wood with a quality latex wood primer sealer. If you
are painting a different color it is a god idea to tint the wood primer with
the final color. The primer should dry at least four hours before applying the
finish coat of paint.
Apply the finish paint:
Mix your
finish paint well, if you have more than one gallon it is a good idea to box
the paint, this means mix them together this will insure a uniform color.
The
temperature should be above 50 degrees before applying paint the ideal
temperature for applying paint is between 65 and 85 degrees.
One gallon
of paint will cover approximately 400 sq.ft. depending on the paint.
Using a good quality paint brush, start painting at the highest point applying a nice even
coat, paint from dry areas into the paints wet edges and finish in one
direction.
Well this is
how I prepared and painted my garage door, I hope this helps if you have some
exterior painting projects.
The
following Lowe’s Home Improvement Video will give you more helpful tips:
We have to do our deck soon. I worry a bit about going into the wood but it is a job that absolutely needs to be done next year at the latest. Enjoyed this article and picked up a couple tips.
ReplyDeleteHi Lorelei, For a deck you might want to use a power washer to remove paint, although you still have to be careful about digging into the wood. Glad you found some tips here!! Thanks for stopping by.
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