Exterior Painting

EXTERIOR PAINTING

Our Exterior painting services include:

Power wash surfaces as needed using the proper type of detergent to remove mildew and dirt.
Preparing all surfaces to be painted by scraping and sanding.
Filling seams and cracks as necessary with a premium caulk.
Applying all necessary primers to cover any stains and repairs to insure adhesion and to prevent water damage
Applying a high quality, premium exterior paint using professional grade brushes and new roller covers.
All Work Guaranteed!

Common Paint Failures

The photographs below emphasize the importance of preparing the surface properly before applying paint.
- Most of the paint failures depicted are failures of preparation, or lack of a vapor barrier within the wall.

Blistering usually indicates that moisture trapped beneath paint is caused by painting over damp wood, green wood, or a preceding coat of paint that isn’t completely dry. Such blisters contain water. Air blisters occurs when the painter fails to sand between glossy coats of paint or when the surface is too warm to be painted. Scrape blisters well, allow the wood to dry thoroughly, then spot-prime.

Peeling and flaking, though similar to blistering, suggest a moisture problem that is more widespread. They are common problems in older houses with no vapor barriers. Excess moisture in a house can also be removed by ventilator fans. This condition can also be corrected by using a stain rather than a paint. Stain is more permeable and will allow water vapor to escape. On rare occasions, flaking occurs because a surface was too warm to paint on.

Wrinkling is caused by paint put on too thick or by painting when the exterior of a house is too cold. This condition is also common where the paint wasn’t brushed in well or paint was too thick and should have been thinned slightly. Paint should glide on; the brush should not drag. Sand well before painting again.

Alligatoring is another paint-buildup problem, often occurring after application of paint on a hot, humid day. Either an earlier undercoat did not air completely or the paint above was too thick. Scrape and/or strip.

Another category of paint failure common to old houses is flaking due to exposure of wood siding to the weather. This form of flaking isn’t caused by water, as described above; rather, the wood wasn’t primed at all or was allowed to weather too long before it was painted. When paint eventually was applied, it adhered only to a top layer of degraded wood. To remedy his condition, sand the areas affected, apply a water-repellant wood preservative, and a prime as soon as the preservative is dry.