How to Paint the Exterior of Your House

Exterior, Painting & Finishing, Video by Danny Lipford

Painting the outside of your house needs to be done regularly to provide protection for the siding and trim. A good paint job requires a lot of prep work, which is as important as the painting itself. Houses built before 1979 should be tested to see if the existing paint contains lead, since breathing or ingesting sanding dust from lead based paint can lead to lead poisoning. Regardless, always wear an approved dust mask or respirator, as well as safety glasses or goggles, when scraping or sanding paint.

Here’s how to go about it:

  • Treat any mildew with a solution of one part bleach to four parts water mixed with a little detergent or TSP in a pump up sprayer. Rinse off after 10-20 minutes.
  • Pressure wash the house to remove any loose paint and dirt, being careful not to damage wood siding or trim, and allow to dry thoroughly.
  • Scrape the house to remove any peeling paint using a paint scraper and putty knife.
  • If needed, sand the wood smooth with a rotary sander. The goal is not to remove all the paint, just the part that is loose or peeling. Feather out the edges so it looks smooth.
  • Use a stain blocking primer over bare wood to prevent knots and sap from bleeding through.
  • Caulk any gaps or cracks with a high quality, paintable caulking.
  • Apply two top coats of a good quality exterior paint, being sure to follow the directions on the can.

For more information, check out our article on How to Paint Anything Outside.

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One Response to “How to Paint the Exterior of Your House”

  1. Mike Andrews Says:
    August 19th, 2008 at 10:20 am

    Thanks for the helpful information. As a side note I recently started a similar project and I picked up a 3M paint spray respitrator kit. Works like a charm and not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be.

    Here’s the one I would recommend to all you home painters.

    http://www.coopersafety.com/item/101187/3M-Spray-Painting-Respirator-Kit.aspx

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