House Painting outside

Painting the whole outside of your house is a major job. But your home may not need a whole paint job. You may be able to spiff up the appearance of your home and extend the life of an entire paint job by several years with regular maintenance and some quick repairs. Whether you decide to paint a porch, the most weathered side of your house, or an outbuilding or two, the general process is the same as painting your whole house.

You'll need to clean and prep the surface, decide what type of paint to use, and apply the paint. The best time to paint is in late spring or early fall on a dry day that is not too sunny. Temperatures below 40 degrees F and direct hot sun can ruin paint jobs. Inspect your house thoroughly before you paint, and take corrective action to prevent the root causes of paint failure.

Troubleshooting Exterior PaintThere are numerous problems associated with exterior paint, from blistering to chalking. Click here for a handy guide on troubleshooting exterior paint issues.

We'll hit on all the basics of exterior painting in his article, starting in this first section with how to deal with various paint problems.

Peeling

Peeling is often the result of painting over wet wood. It can also result from moisture within the house pushing its way out. If you cannot control the moisture with exhaust fans, use latex primer and latex paint. Latex allows some moisture to pass right through the paint.

Another cause of peeling is a dirty or a glossy surface. To undo the damage, all loose paint flakes must be scraped off with a wire brush and the surface must be sanded to smooth sharp edges. Bare spots should be primed before painting.

Alligatoring

This problem looks just like its name suggests: the hide of an alligator. Paint shrinks into individual islands, exposing the previous surface, usually because the top coat is not adhering to the paint below. Perhaps the paints are not compatible or the second coat was applied before the first coat had dried. To get rid of this problem, scrape off the old paint and then sand, prime, and repaint the surface.

Blistering

Paint that rises from the surface and forms blisters is usually due to moisture or improper painting. To fix the problem, first scrape off the blisters. If you can see dry wood behind them, the problem is due to moisture. If you find paint, then it is a solvent blister and is probably caused by painting with an oilbase or alkyd-base coating in hot weather. The heat forms a skin on the paint and traps solvent in a bubble.