Starting at the top
Generally paint your house working from the top down, but following the run of the boards.
Prime the overhangs and fascia boards first.
At the eaves: start at a corner, paint the
overhang all the way across before starting the siding. From
this point you can move onto the siding. With vertical siding;
work from the top of a board to the bottom. Set your ladder about 20
inches from the corner of the side (Right side if your right handed,
Left side if your left handed) and so that the top of the ladder is
about 2 feet below the overhang. Start a strip of boards 14-20 inches
wide. (With T111 use the groves as a guide still taking a strip 14-20
inches wide) Work your way down, working to one side of your ladder,
lowering your ladder as needed until you get to the bottom, or a good
stopping point such as a casing or an overlap joint. You can leave off
for a break whenever you get to the end of a strip or a casing board. As
you finish the strip, move your ladder over and paint the next adjoining
strip. When you reach the last strip you will have to work above the top
of you ladder, so paint about 2 feet down then lower the ladder and
paint another 2 feet down until you reach the bottom.
At gable ends: Start at an upper wall corner, paint the
overhang working your way up toward the peak up, and then work from the
peak down to the other upper wall corner.
From there you may move onto the vertical siding.
Start at an upper corner follow the same basic procedures as described
for at the eaves above, however you will be raising
your ladder each time you move over to the next strip until you reach
the peak, then you will be lowering the ladder each time you move.
Window casings can sometimes be reach entirely from
having the ladder set on or under the windowsill of shorter windows,
however tall window casings will have to be painted with your ladder to
the side of the casing.
Applying Finish Paint
The methods for applying the finish coats are basically the same as
we have given for applying the primer. During most of the painting
season you will want to avoid painting on the sunny side of a building,
so rotating to a different side before one side is finished is usually
necessary. Some paints are ready to use directly from the paint can,
while others perform better for us if we thin them slightly. While
painting, you may find it necessary to thin paint, as it sometimes tends
to thicken up in your paint-pot (Bucket You Work From) during
the day. Be careful not to over thin.
Read paint can labels for recommended times between recoat.
Not to soon: Latex paint may have a recommended recoat
time of less that 2 to up to 24 hours, however cool damp or humid
conditions can slow drying time significantly. Oil/Alkyd paints usually
recommend at least an overnight dry between recoats, however we have
found that with some finish coats; it is better to allow the paint an
extra day dry time. If oil/alkyd paint is recoated to soon, it could
possibly wrinkle, and this is a situation you defiantly want to avoid.
Not to late: Some products are known to produce a
soap like film in time thus, possibly affecting the
adhesion of following coats. In this case you will probably be advised
to recoat before two weeks. Glossy finish paints tend to harden over
time, and this could create a surface to hard and slick for the
following coat to develop a good bond with.
Letting the paint dry for longer than two weeks before recoating will
often, not create a serious bonding problem.
But if you ever see a house, that has a problem of paint peeling from
paint, it could have been cause by to much time between recoats, if not
something else.
If you are using more than one color, let the first color paint dry
before cutting in with the next. Paint overhangs first. Other trims
colors can be applied before or after the siding is painted. If the
edges of casing boards are to be painted along with the siding
paint/color, and the face of the casing boards are to be painted with a
different paint/color; than it will be easier to paint the trim after
the siding is finished.
It is usually best to finish the doors after the siding
is painted.
If window sash is to be painted, it can painted before or after the siding
is finished. By getting the window sash done before the siding is
finished it prevents you from placing a ladder on your freshly painted
surfaces.