While most of us focus on colour for our home’s exterior, in many ways it is more important to choose the right paint for the job. Basically you can choose between water based acrylic paints and oil based paints, with each being appropriate in different applications. Oil based paints can be used to give a high gloss finish to exterior trim work and they are a good choice when repainting over many layers of oil based paint on weather boards.
Otherwise most people use water based acrylic paints on exteriors. Here’s some tips on achieving the best painting job:
• Ideal painting conditions are between 15- 30 degrees celcius, low to moderate
humidity and little or no wind.
• Avoid painting in hot, direct sun light because the surface temperature can be higher than air temperature.
• Never paint below 10 degrees celcius because it’s too cold for the paint film
to form properly, and don’t take short cuts on surface preparation. Remove
all flakey, loose and peeling paint with a scraper and sand surface.
• Repair cracks, gaps and fill holes, and clean the surface down with soapy water.
• After all surfaces have been cleaned, sanded and repaired, you can now start
painting.
Happy Easter!