Prep work before painting the outside of the house?

If you painted the exterio of your house, how did you prep?

I don't have a power washer and did not really plant on renting one really either.

Can you prep any other way? Like a "spray" cleaner?

TIA

Re: Prep work before painting the outside of the house?

what kind of siding? I have been reading a lot of forums and websites about it, since ours is old and stained. There was also a show on HGTV ('10 Things You Should Know Before Painting Your Exterior with Amy Matthews, I think)

If it is aluminum, you shouldn't powerwash it anyway - the pressure can bend the metal and cause leaks in your house.

Step 1: Buy a deck/siding cleaner - you dilute it in water (I think the ratio is 5 gallons of water to 1 gallon of cleaner) ...

Spray house with water, use a soft brush to apply cleaner, let sit for 5-10 minutes (do no let it dry though, so make sure you work in sections), then rinse off.
Let house dry for 24 hours

Step 2: Fix any dents or holes

Step 3: Prime with an exterior primer

Step 4: Paint 2 coats of your color choice


The best advice everywhere seems to be, make sure it is not going to rain any time around when you plan on doing the priming/painting part because it will be ruined and streaky.

HTH

Re: Prep work before painting the outside of the house?

I have old siding. The disgusting looking one on my Levitt house. Is it abestos?

I guess I will get that deck cleaner and spray it first. I was afraid I would have to brush it on... Oh well!!!!

I have a primer/paint all in one so I hope that will work.

Re: Prep work before painting the outside of the house?

it's probably aluminum. Does it look pitted and maybe even moldy in some places? And it feels like, I can't even describe it - a dry rough chalkboard when you touch it (totally skeeves me to touch my siding, LOL)


ETA: You could probably put it in an old windex window outdoor cleaner bottle (the one that hooks up to the hose) and spray the house with it - spot clean with a brush. I think that would work because the 'powerwash' instructions on the bottle tell you to put it through the powerwasher container attachment.

Just empty this type of bottle and put the solution in there. It will mix with water as you spray.

Message edited 5/30/2009 10:05:58 PM.

Re: Prep work before painting the outside of the house?

Re: Prep work before painting the outside of the house?

I just read this bit online
"Ms. Dwyer, who runs the Levittown Museum, currently hidden in the lower hallway of a vocational school, wants to find and buy a Levitt home in its original state, at least on the outside, to house the museum.

The exterior must be unaltered and sided with the original asbestos shingles. "

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E2D8173FF930A25753C1A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all



Be very careful with Abestos! VERY VERY VERY DANGEROUS. My FIL died from mesotheloma and my dad has asbestosis. You might want to call someone to check to make sure you can work with it safely..

Re: Prep work before painting the outside of the house?

We had a painter do this. he prep'd with powerwashing our house and then painted it 1 day later. HTH