Paint Preparation Questions

Paint Preparation Questions

Questions about preparing an exterior surface for primer and paint for a lasting paint job.

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Questions that Need Answers

• Mold on redwood siding. - It appears that the mold is in the redwood siding. I am preparing the surface to repaint and bare wood has been exposed to elements. When I sand it down to clean wood I still see dark spots. Will this affect paint coating. I use an oil primer to s...

Questions with Answers

• Cleaning Mold - Should mold be cleaned totally before trim is painted?
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• When to use peel stop and when to scrape and remove existing loose paint. - My story starts with a cedar sided house. Originally the builder decided to stain the cedar siding, with what looked like an oil semi-transparent stain. The house was built and located in Wesminister, Colorado in 1979. At some point the stain ...
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• Removing peeling and blistered paint from exterior house siding. - With respect to removing peeling and blistered paint from exterior house siding, I have a comment and a question. It is often really hard to get off the old paint with a scraper alone. Lots of paint patches are left that are not firmly attached...
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• Cleaning exterior wood trim. - Our home is vinyl sided with wood trim around the windows, and a wood and stone front porch.(Craftsman style) Will TSP and a pressure washer harm the vinyl? The house is 6 years old, but the paint is faded and thin.
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• how can I remove old paint and repaint trim? - The trim on my home is in desperate need of repainting. The paint is chipped in most sections and is impossible to remove all of it with a scraper. I am not in the position to be able to replace the trim nor can I pay someone to paint it for me....
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• Priming My House - I want to paint my house, but am curious if priming is necessary? I am painting it the same color as it was previously and just wonder if purchasing primer and laying it on is really a step I need to take?
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• Caulking lap siding - I'm working on an old house, they replaced the old siding with new preprimed ceder lap siding. The carpenter told us that it would be great if we would caulk all the laps, so we did on two sides of the house. I told this to a friend at the paint s...
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• Paint peeling on flat surfaces. - I have a problem with paint peeling on flat surfaces of my house, such as window sills & a door threshold. How should I prepare this area so that it will hold paint?
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• Washing painted exterior cedar house siding. - We need to wash the outside house paint. It is cedar siding. What products are safe for this?
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• Preparing metal flashing. - When preparing metal flashing I was told by an ex painter not to scrape or sand these parts as it will take galvanizing off and rust,is this true?
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• Waterproof sealant before paint. - It was suggested that I spray or roll a waterproofing material on my T-111 siding before I paint. Will this make the new paint adhere good or will the paint tend to have less grip!
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• Can I spray a wood bleaching solution with an airless? - Want to know if I can apply a wood brightening product or bleach solution with an airless sprayer?
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• Prep House Exterior - Is power washing wood paneling safest and best way to remove old paint? I am talking about a house exterior.
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• Using filler on lap siding. - The exterior paint on my 1920's Craftsman is quite uneven, probably due to a past owner scraping without sanding, and painting over it. A painter that we hired began work by scraping away chipped paint, applying a white plaster-like substance, le...
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• Acrylic over fiberglass filler. - Hi, we've just painted our daughter's house this last week - NZ summer - We have some blisters and think your article on this is the answer. We have a wooden wall to finish. Ivy had dug it's roots in so it needed lots of Fiberglass filler. Is ther...
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• Prepare and Paint Galvanized Garbage Cans - How would you prepare and paint an exterior galvanized garbage can to avoid peeling, as it is exposed to freezing and harsh winters?
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• House prep for soft redwood. - My house is 50+ yrs old; through the years various owners have painted over old peeling/cracked paint. It looks horrid. The siding is soft redwood. I have had up to 10 painters/contractors/questioned paint stores about what to do/use to prep/paint...
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• Blowtorch Paint Removal - I am an experienced contractor who has never used a blowtorch for paint removal. We are removing paint from 150+ yr old columns and are wondering if chemical stripping (considering "peel away 1") or the blowtorch will be more effective? Both from ...
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• My First Step to Paint the Exterior - I am going to paint my new house. First I want to paint the exterior. Before painting shall I wash the exterior portion? After that, what is my first step to paint the exterior? Please tell me.
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• Nail pops in exterior siding. - In the prep process how do you repair nail pops in exterior masonite siding?
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• Siding nail pops - What is the best way to take care of "nail pops" in masonite siding prior to painting the exterior of my house?
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• Striated Siding Question - I have an older house and a pre-sixties budget, so I am trying to save our current siding that has about 10 to 15 coats of paint. The siding is the larger striated siding panels (sawdrawn?), and most are in good shape physically, but we are having...
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• Exterior Prep - I have a board that seeps sap is there any way to stop it?
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• Clean house with bleach? - How do I wash the house with bleach? How do I clean 2 story house using bleach method. What does that even mean?
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• How well do I need to clean dark areas on a new, but aged 4 months, T-111 siding on an exterior shed before painting? - I have a new shed that I built about 4 months ago and I used exterior T-111 for the siding. I did not paint the T-111 right away like I should have. I now have the time to prime and paint it as needed but I noticed the sides are darker from the gr...
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