Saturday, August 6, 2005

Before exterior painting, specific preparation is needed

By Glenn Haege / Special to The Detroit News

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Here we are in the dog days of summer and you have to paint the house. Midsummer painting is the pits. It is always hard work. This summer has been extra hot and humid in many parts of the country.

You may want to put the job off to this fall or even next year. If you paint and the wood has a moisture content above 18 percent, the paint won't adhere properly. If you paint when the heat or humidity is too high, the paint will not dry properly.

When you have to get on with the job, remember 60 percent of the job is preparation. No matter whether you are going to paint wood, vinyl or aluminum siding, stucco, concrete block, shingles or brick, you have to clean the surface and remove any mold or mildew.

There are many different exterior-siding cleaners on the market. Try Jomax by Zinsser ((800) 899-1211, www.zinsser.com) if there is a mold or mildew problem. Jomax reacts with household bleach to create a cleaner that has approximately the same pH as water. This means that the bleach is no longer deadly to most plants.

If the siding has mold or mildew mix the cleaner as follows: 1 quart Jomax, 3 quarts household bleach, 4 gallons of warm water. You can apply with a garden sprayer or brush on with a deck brush. Keep moist for a few minutes, then rinse off with a garden hose. No pressure washer is needed.

Krud Kutter House Wash ((800) 466-7126, www.krudkutter.com) also cleans and removes mold and mildew from most exterior siding surfaces. Alumin-Nu Nice -- Easy ((800) 899-7097, www.aluminnu. com) and Power remove both grime and oxidation from vinyl and aluminum siding.

If you have wood rot or stucco failure, you have to determine the source of moisture that brought about the rot or surface failure. Quite often the moisture can be traced to improper flashing around the windows or sealed or plugged drainage areas. Re-flash and/or clear the drainage channels before replacing or repairing the wood or disintegrating stucco.

Rotten wood can be replaced or repaired. If you have a large section it is better to replace. If you have a small area or a very difficult to replace section it can be repaired with Abatron ((800) 445-1754, www.abatron.com) LiquidWood or Wood Epox or Elmer's 2-Part Wood Repair System ((888) 435-6377)

Durham's Water Putty ((515) 243-0491, www.waterputty.com) is very versatile, amazingly economical, has been around since dirt and is available at almost every hardware store. Nail Pops and knotholes can easily be filled with products like Minwax Stainable Wood Filler ((800) 462-0194, www.minwax.com). Be sure the label says that the product is rated for exterior use.

Stucco can be repaired with products like Zinsser Ready Mixed Stucco Patch. Quikrete Water Stop Cement can be used to fill and patch any concrete surface and is available at any hardware store or home center. Make only enough for immediate use because you have 12 to 15 minutes before it solidifies.

Efflorescence on stucco, concrete or brick is caused by water. Try to eliminate the water source. Efflorescence should be removed by wire brushing or power washing. Unfortunately, stucco should not be power washed, so you have to wire brush.

Paint chalking should be removed by power or brush washing. If any chalking remains, a product such as E-B Emulsa-Bond by the Flood Company ((800) 321-3444, www.flood.com), should be added to the first coat of paint.

If the previous paint job has deteriorated badly and is flaking, alligatoring, or blistering it is best to remove the paint down to the bare wood. According to the Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute, www.paintquality.com, blistering is usually caused by painting over a damp or wet surface with oil base paints or exposure of latex paint to dew, high humidity or rain shortly after the paint has dried.

Alligatoring can be caused by natural aging, applying a rigid oil-base paint over a more flexible latex coating or application of a topcoat before the undercoat is dry.

Flaking can be caused by natural aging of multiple coats of paint, or painting over a dirty or poorly prepared surface.

Small areas can be scraped. Large areas are usually done by sanding. AIT ((800) 932-5872, www.aittool.com) and Metabo (800) 638-2264, www.metabousa.com), make power paint-shaving equipment that can make the job go much faster.

If you have scraped and sanded too many times and now have a very irregular surface or have a very rough surface like T1 11, XIM Peel Bond ((800) 262-8469, www.ximbonder.com) can be a lifesaver. The product goes on milky white but becomes colorless when dry. It can be painted on up to 20 mils thick. One or two coats can fill surface irregularities so your paint can go on smooth as glass.

Now all the preparations are done except for the caulking. Caulk before painting if you are using paintable caulk.

Next week, we'll get to the fun part and put on a coat of paint.

Ask Glenn If you have a question, call the Handyman Show with Glenn Haege at (866) ASK GLENN. The show runs 8 a.m.-noon Saturday and Sunday on WDFN-AM (1130) and more than 150 other stations nationwide. To suggest a question for Haege's Thursday "Ask Glenn" column, write: Ask Glenn, Master Handyman Press, P.O. Box 1498, Royal Oak, MI 48068-1498, or e-mail askglenn@masterhandyman.com.