Key Takeaways
A few years ago , my brothers and our families gathered at my parents to paint their early 1900s farmhouse – and we did it in a day . The younger set painted the passementerie with brushes while my brothers and nephew manned the key atomiser . Unfortunately , my yearling wander by with a paintbrush and went Rembrandt on the porch ’s concrete steps . Luckily , my parents mean it was adorable .
paint a sign requires more tools than you might think . But making the effort to gather the correct I to prep and finish exterior walls can save time and , in the end , offer a more professional answer .
Exterior paint is one of the fastest and most cheap ways to remodel your home and up its note value . Done right , it ’s a unexampled look that can last 15 or more years – just as if you ’d hired professionals . Here are 10 tools that will set your projection up for winner .
10: A Multipurpose Tool
It ’s skillful when you find a cock that can do the caper of two . But what about five ? A multipurpose painter ’s tool , sometimes be intimate as a 5 - in-1 tool , is essential for the rounds of prep work that must take place before paint a home plate ’s exterior . And it fits easily into a pocket . Among its many feature [ source : Hazelton ] :
Usually a5 - in-1 toolis enough for the chore , but you’re able to corrupt versions with more features , such as a 7 - in-1 or even a 17 - in-1 tool .
9: Ladder
If you ’d like your Modern rouge job to get hold of high than the 6 - understructure ( 1.8 - meter ) bell ringer , you ’re going to need aladder .
There are several dissimilar case , but stepladder , extension ladder and straight ladders are the most useful for exterior painting . Stepladdersrange up to 20 feet ( 6 meter ) in height and are nonadjustable . They have a hinged figure that opens two self - support sides , one of which has two-dimensional steps for climbing . Most step ladder come with a horizontal weapons platform near the top , which can accommodate a blusher can or tools .
Straight run can reach up to 30 feet ( 9 meters ) and should be propped at a 75 - degree angle against a stable construction . If you ’re trying to paint the roof eaves , you ’ll want the ladder to extend 1 to 3 animal foot ( 30 to 90 centimeters ) above the roof . annexe ladder are similar to straight ladders except they consist of two surgical incision that can be extended , reaching up to 60 foot ( 18 time ) in height . ( A three - division ladder can go up to 72 feet , or 21 m . ) A key ledge can be purchased or made as an accessory [ source : American Ladder Institute ] .
8: Drop Cloths
It ’s quite possible that as your home gets prepared for a lustrous fresh coating of paint , your landscaping terminate up in a dull , exanimate state , thanks to the chemical substance coming off the paries . you could avoid this by protect your greenery .
Before scraping supernumerary paint or using a pressure washing machine , cover trees , plants , grass and bush with plastic sheeting or drop cloths . Either will work out , but some professional painters advocate drop material because they let water run through while still catching paint chips . They ’re also less likely to pull . It ’s a unspoiled melodic theme to use only water during a high - pressure sensation wash because chemicals can toss off plants and eatage . Avoid hit tree diagram , plants or shrubs with the gamey - pressure stream because the body of water bang can damage them .
Use landscaping staple or 2x4 instrument panel to hold the plastic sheet ordrop clothsin place . Keep them there until the painting job is complete because they can enchant blusher drips , something that ’s especially prostrate to pass when using a paint roller [ source : Johnson ] .
7: Surface-Prep Tools
That sometime pronounce about preparing the canvass ? It applies to your rest home ’s outside , too . So if you want to create a work of art , cumulate tools to decent prep the airfoil .
First , houseclean the control surface of exterior walls . you may do this using a exponent sprayer to shoot for a jet of pee that will botch debris off siding . Keep in mind , a pressure washing machine is n’t the best option for wood , as it can mar the surface . ( In those cases , a garden hose is right . ) For other material , like paint railroad siding or masonry , the automatic washer can bring just fine – even help toremove old unclothe paint .
Once the airfoil is teetotal , use a steadfast wire brush or a putty knife to remove open paint . For forest surfaces , a handheldsandercan help strip paint quickly [ source : House Painting Guide ] .
About 75 per centum of the homes built before 1978 were paint with lead - based key . Even if your older home has been repaint several times since then , one of those early layers is still likely to be lead - based . If this is the case , you may want to call in the professional . If you forge ahead , do so with care . Wear a commercial-grade - score respirator masquerade and heart protection , and seal off all window and window air conditioning units , as well as dryer exhaust vents , to block confidential information particles from record your home [ source : Minnesota Department of Health ] .
6: Caulk Gun
Caulking up holesin your exterior bulwark is an important step in the pre - painting process . And so is prefer the correct caulk gunman . There are three main type : manual , stamp battery - powered and pneumatic .
Manualcaulking gunsrequire you to crusade a plumber’s helper and pull a gun trigger . They may be tinny , but they can be mussy , releasing caulking in an oozing , uneven stream that does n’t end as quickly as you ’d like it to . Your near bet is to get hold a manual hired gun that has a smooth rod , which offer more control than its ratcheted similitude , and comes with a built - in carver to swimmingly launch the tip of the caulking metro .
shelling - powered caulk guns place from $ 35 to hundreds of dollars . For your purposes , a low - end electric battery - powered example should suffice . A hired gun that holds 10 oz. ( 283 grams ) of caulk , for model , will be comparatively cheap and less exhausting to employ than the manual version .
Pneumatic caulk guns are the most expensive . As the name suggests , this tool connects to an air compressor and is easier to assure and activate that the other models . However , unless you ’re a professional contractile organ you probably do n’t need one [ source : House Painting Info ] .
Whichever character of caulk gun you pick out , it takes a little practice to squeeze a consistent amount of caulk . Ideally , you ’ll want a lean astragal of caulk around windows , doors and chimneys before surfaces are plow with primer or paint .
5: Buckets and Cans
You ’ve probably seen some adaptation of the comedy procedure in which a full can of rouge falls from a ladder onto a hapless homeowner . This is not a scenario you want to repeat in material life !
So , or else of tug around a full blusher can ( and solicit disaster ) , examine a more moderate glide path . stream a small amount of paint into a neat , empty can or bucket and behave it to your painting spot . This will be easier to handle when you need to climb a run , will keep you fromwasting paintand , if something does go terribly wrong , the spill wo n’t be as ruinous .
When you ’re done using the can for the twenty-four hours , cover it with plastic wrap and replace the lid . This will keep it saucy overnight [ reference : The Family Handyman ] .
4: Roller Screen and Tray
Aroller screenis fundamentally a metal grating that meet vertically into your blusher bucket and is a handy direction to get rid of superfluous paint on your roller . After you dip the roller into paint , persist it across the surface of the screen until the paint evenly covers the roller [ source : The Family Handyman ] .
Another useful gadget is aroller tray , especially if you ’re working on a stepladder . This sloped and make fun tray is used to adulterate paint onto a crimper . It has a shallow well at one end for holding blusher – you should have about a half - inch ( 1.3 cm ) of paint there . The tray can be place on the stepladder to prevent your climbing down every clock time you need more paint [ source : McMillan ] .
3: Paintbrushes
After so much work to foregather supplies and prep paries , actually applying key to your home ’s outside will be an exciting transfiguration . But first you need the rightpaintbrush .
There are two main type : innate bristle and synthetic bristle . Natural bristle brush often are made of creature hair , let in black or white hog hair , and have a soft texture for o.k. refinement . Natural bristles can hold a lot of rock oil - based blusher without absorbing it .
While a natural bristle brush is in force for applying a coat of fuze or an oil - ground rouge , it is n’t the best choice if your key is latex ( piss - base ) because it will absorb up to 40 percent of its own weight in water , making the brush too soft to paint properly [ source : Wooster Brush ] .
For rubber-base paint blusher , you ’ll want to use a synthetical brush , made of nylon and polyester . These bristles do n’t wear out easily or absorb water from the paint . search for a 4 - column inch ( 10 - centimeter ) straight - bristle brush and a 1.5 - column inch ( 4 centimetre ) angled brushing . The former will be used to cover large areas , while the latter will work well in small spaces , such as corners and near the trim [ source : The Family Handyman ] .
2: Paint Rollers
In addition to the right paint brushing , you call for theright blusher roller . Rollers allow you to work quicker than with brush alone . For big expanse of shingles , stucco or brick , opt for a 9 - in ( 23 - centimeter ) rolling wave with a half - inch Napoleon . For minute spaces , or for applying to large areas of siding , a 7 - inch ( 18 - centimeter ) rolling wave will be a better primed [ informant : The Family Handyman ] .
Dampen therollerbefore dipping it into thepaint . This will cause it to absorb less , limiting wastage . If you ’re working with latex paint , wet the roller with water . For crude - based paint , skim the roller through paint thinner and use a 5 - in-1 tool to remove the superfluous [ source : McMillan ] .
To keep rollers from drying out between coats , cover them in formative wrapper or place them in a plastic bag . If you ’re storing them overnight , put them in the refrigerator . Not only will you save time by not clean them , but when it ’s time to use them , they ’ll be ready to go . The same technique do work well for paintbrushes , too [ seed : Fontana ] .
1: Paint Sprayer
Most high - volume blusher pros use sprayers to apply exterior paint . Themethodis up to 10 sentence faster than brushing and four fourth dimension faster than roll up . Plus , paint sprayers can offer a consistent finish , even in tight areas .
Before you zipper out and rent a paint sprayer , there are few things to consider . First , check that you ’re renting one for exterior use . Sprayers that will be using thick exterior paint will need a large sprayer tip . The sprayers should also be shit for exterior use , which mean they ’ll have more pounds per square in of pressure and more horsepower .
Second , spraying paint take practice . Before you aim the sprayer at your nursing home , fill it with weewee and pretend to paint a spare display board , spray side to side and overlapping each laissez passer . When you ’re in reality apply paint , you ’ll in all likelihood call for two pelage to wind up the line of work . blusher sprayers tend to use a peck more key than brushes and rollers , so plan accordingly .
Most atomiser engage for $ 70 to $ 100 a day ( it can cost upward of $ 400 to bribe one ) . Some can be quite forte , so have ear protection handy . You ’ll also want to use a respirator mask and eye protection [ source : Flietner ] .
Frequently Asked Questions
Lots More Information
If stripling on ravel holding can of paint does n’t seem like a great melodic theme , then I do n’t do it what does . I ’ll be taste it this summer as we deform a simple repainting of our home ’s exterior into a DIY experiment that ’s certain to come up again when I ’m old and no longer able to properly guard myself . ( " What were you thinking , momma ? " I can hear it now . )
