Exterior Painting Questions

Exterior Painting Questions

Questions and answers pertaining to exterior painting and staining. This could include, but isn't limited to, how do I prepare a surface or how do I actually do an exterior painting or staining project.

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Sub-Categories

• Exterior Trim, Windows and Doors - Questions and answers about the preparation and painting of exterior trim, windows and doors.
• Staining Siding And Trim - Questions about staining siding and trim. This includes preparation and application of house stains.
• Painting Brick, Stucco and Masonry - Questions about painting all masonry types including painting brick and stucco.
• Paint Preparation Questions - Questions about preparing an exterior surface for primer and paint for a lasting paint job.
• Exterior Paint Primer Questions - Questions about choosing and the application of exterior primer before painting.

Questions with Answers

• Exterior Painting - Hi, I have just been reading through your advice on the web site and need guidance, my mother-in-law lives in Lithuania in a wooden house as is the norm, the house was built in the 1950's by her father who was a carpenter. The house is 100% wooden...
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• Fiberglass Deck - I have a fiberglass door and a fiber glass deck what kind of paint can I use on them?
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• Metal roof - I have a metal trailer roof that I have been using an aluminum fiber on. Can I paint over this with elastomeric white paint? Will it hold up?
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• What causes new exterior paint to bubble and blister? - Just repainted my old home (1923) - lap siding - used Behr paint w/primer included -- scraped off all old paint. Now bubbles and blisters have formed. What caused that and how can I prevent it from happening more and more?
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• Latex paint over oil primer on exterior? - Very confused here. Have been using SW A-100 oil primer on exterior of 1897 home, top-coating with Duration. Is this compatible? Wondering if need to switch to a latex or acrylic based on some comments. Also, harsh south exposure; What is best to...
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• Changing the color of exterior. - We're going to repaint a light gray house with a mustard yellow. The house was painted less than 5 years ago and is in good shape. Do I need to prime? Is priming necessary to change colors?
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• Clay Homes - My home is 100 yrs old and is made of backed clay bricks. What is the best product to use to fill small cracks?
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• Painting a new built house. - I built my house four months before. When should I paint my house? Some people say that I should paint it after one year. Is it true?
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• Primer lifting off the spackling. - Used Siko spackling in nail holes on wood planter box, then primed w/100% acrylic primer. It's all lifting off surface where spackling was used. 1. Should I have primed wood first? 2. Could it be lifting because spackle didn't cure? 3. Ho...
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• White stains emerged after painting our house red. - We painted our 'dutch barn' style house red last summer. Since then white blotches or stains have appeared in several areas. Some stains are almost 'chalky' texture. The stains seem to come and go occasionally. What caused the white stains?
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• Preventing exterior mold. - Can a small amount of bleach be added to exterior solid stain to prevent mold?
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• Painting Elastomeric on an old standing seam roof. - I have an old standing seam roof with small holes in it on an early 1800's house. I wanted to apply an elastomeric paint to seal the roof and then apply Benjamin Moore Ironclad over the elastomeric. Can I paint an oil based paint over elastomeric...
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• Clear varnish over painted wood. - I have made some lawn ornaments from plywood cutouts, primed and then painted with exterior paint. There is white in the Santa beard and everything I have found in a marine varnish turns it yellow. Is there a better recommended product I can use...
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• How often to paint/stain. - I am a recently appointed trustee in a condo association and we have been going over our expenses, which include regular staining (seems like painting to me) of the exterior of our buildings. We recently had this done - seems to have been yearly ...
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• High gloss silver paint for wood. - What paint should I use on new wood siding? It's a D&RGW caboose playhouse and I want authentic silver look.
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• Spraying house with rollover - Is using a sprayer to paint a house then going back over it with a brush/roller just as good as painting with a brush/roller in the first place?
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• Rusty Roof - Galvanized roof starting to rust. What kind of paint should I use to repair it? Aprox 17 years old.
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• Stain Over Latex - I have a 30 year old cedar shingle house that was originally stained with an oil base stain. A few years ago I had the house painted and the contractor used a latex paint over the stain. This paint is beginning to peel. Can I stain over the lat...
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• Sloping land next to house. - I need to use an extension ladder to paint the side of my house. Unfortunately several areas drop about eight inches over the width of the ladder rungs. Building up one side sounds kinda dangerous when going up 30 feet, any ideas on the best way t...
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• How Much Paint and How Many Coats For Our Home - We have a house with painted siding. It is a light cream color. We would like to paint it brown. The house is about 1450sq/ft. There is some added surface due to one side of the house being about 5 feet higher off of the ground then the other so i...
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• Exterior Painting and Testing for 2 Coats - I have new construction and contracted to have 2 coats on the exterior of my house. I don't think there has been 2 coats applied. Is there any way to test for 2 coats?
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• Vine Damage to Exterior - Vine removed from wood exterior has left a hard barnacle on the surface. What is the best way we can remove this barnacle without further damage?
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• Lower underhang looks all smuggy, will another coat help? - My husband just painted our lower underhang , beige to match the house. It was a semi gloss, it had a light sheen.Now he used the flat paint, that he used on the house, and it looks all smuggy to me. Would a second coat help that look ?
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• Need to paint a metal water tank? - I have a very large metal water tank sitting in my front yard. It needs repainting. Brushing does not seem to remove the metal spots. How would you recommend I proceed?
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• Paint The Trim First or The House - I have a quick question about the trimming on the outside of my house. Well my question is do I paint the house then the trimming or do I paint the trimming first then the house?
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