Input on Painting Exterior House (Lowes, windows, color, cleaning)

[EmBee]

We plan to paint our 10 yr old. 3,000 sf. two story house this Summer. The front the house is mostly brick. The 2nd story sides and back portion of the house has siding. Some wood trims around the windows and corner edges are showing some signs of cracks. Only a few of the edges has some sign of rotting. Would it be wise to go ahead and replace all wood window trims and corner edges even if it hasn't rot? Or could they be salvaged by sanding, and filling with Bondo?

Also read about some people recommending putting a primer after pressure washing and sanding. Is this a necessary step or will extra paint alone do the job? If a primer is recommended, then what type and brand. The same thing with exterior paint. Can you find good quality paint and primer at Lowes? For instance, how does their Valspar exterior paint compares to Sherman Williams or Benjamin Moore?

Last but not least, what ballpark range is reasonable for painting this type of house in this region? We'll get estimates, but just wondering what people are paying these days. Thx.

[K'ledgeBldr]

You'd probably get a better idea of cost if you posted in the Dallas forum.
As far as everything else- get some recommendations from neighbors, co-workers, etc. and get at least three quotes.
Be sure to point out the specific areas you have concerns about. Most painters can do simple carpentry repairs or know someone who does.

[M3 Mitch]

Consumer Reports has some good paint rating info, available at your library if you don't subscribe. IIRC Behr brand paint scored well. Depends on if color holdup (what color do you want anyway, different brands held up better in different colors) chalking resistance, adhesion is more important to you.

If you have actual rot on the wood, while there are products out there that are sold to treat rotted wood, if it isn't too hard to get rid of the rotted trim I would rather cut it out and replace it. Maybe someone will post up with info on the rot treatments. The part of the wood that is not rotted is fine and you won't get any value from replacing it, unless I am missing something here.

As to primer, generally I use the same brand primer as paint and prime any bare wood but don't generally prime areas with paint on them. Talk to your professional painter, they should know what works in your area.

You are not planning to paint the brick are you?

[EmBee]

Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr

You'd probably get a better idea of cost if you posted in the Dallas forum.
As far as everything else- get some recommendations from neighbors, co-workers, etc. and get at least three quotes.
Be sure to point out the specific areas you have concerns about. Most painters can do simple carpentry repairs or know someone who does.

I'll probably post in the Dallas section too. With forum, you never know which section will get the most replies.

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

Consumer Reports has some good paint rating info, available at your library if you don't subscribe. IIRC Behr brand paint scored well. Depends on if color holdup (what color do you want anyway, different brands held up better in different colors) chalking resistance, adhesion is more important to you.

If you have actual rot on the wood, while there are products out there that are sold to treat rotted wood, if it isn't too hard to get rid of the rotted trim I would rather cut it out and replace it. Maybe someone will post up with info on the rot treatments. The part of the wood that is not rotted is fine and you won't get any value from replacing it, unless I am missing something here.

As to primer, generally I use the same brand primer as paint and prime any bare wood but don't generally prime areas with paint on them. Talk to your professional painter, they should know what works in your area.

You are not planning to paint the brick are you?

We'll probably stick with lighter color for the siding and no we won't paint the brick. Trying to get some ideas for light color that willl match the red brick. The rotten woods are not too bad, but are happening along the end section of the window trims, some have split and cracked. I figure at this rate others that are looking ok may have the same fate in a few years even with new coat of paint.

One painter did say they'll replace the wood for just the cost of the material, so I may just decide to have all the wood trims around the windows replaced. He also mentioned that primer is not needed on the existing areas that will be pressure washed prior to repaint. He said he will use it only on the new replaced woods. Not sure if I should insist on the primer or just trust his opinion. He also didn't say how many coats of paint. Is 2 coats necessary or 1 coat of nice quality paint is enough? When browsing Sherman Williams site I saw an exterior paint with primer in it. Maybe that's the way to go.

[JimRom]

Unless you are drastically changing the color from very dark to very light, priming surfaces that are already painted is pretty pointless. The purpose of primer is to a) seal the surface so that it doesn't soak up paint and b) to cover stains that will bleed through paint. If the surface is already painted, then it's sealed, so unless you have some major stains that aren't removable by chemical cleaning and pressure washing, save your money.

Also, don't bother with the primer paint, pretty much for the reasons stated above.

As for the 2 coat question, the purpose of a second coat isn't to make the paint thicker. (The thickening of the paint from the second coat does help durability, but it's really the coverage that you're after) It's to fill in the spots that were missed by the first coat. And yes, every painter is going to have some missed spots. Not because the painter is bad, but because paint doesn't fill every little pore, crack, and crevice on the first pass. So, yes, you need 2 coats.

[EmBee]

Originally Posted by JimRom

Unless you are drastically changing the color from very dark to very light, priming surfaces that are already painted is pretty pointless. The purpose of primer is to a) seal the surface so that it doesn't soak up paint and b) to cover stains that will bleed through paint. If the surface is already painted, then it's sealed, so unless you have some major stains that aren't removable by chemical cleaning and pressure washing, save your money.

Also, don't bother with the primer paint, pretty much for the reasons stated above.

As for the 2 coat question, the purpose of a second coat isn't to make the paint thicker. (The thickening of the paint from the second coat does help durability, but it's really the coverage that you're after) It's to fill in the spots that were missed by the first coat. And yes, every painter is going to have some missed spots. Not because the painter is bad, but because paint doesn't fill every little pore, crack, and crevice on the first pass. So, yes, you need 2 coats.

The reason I wonder if a primer is needed is to seal the surface. But as you mentioned, if we're doing 2 coats, then it won't be necessary. I'll also skip the primer paint. Went by Sherman Williams over the weekend and looks like their A-100 line should work. Thx.

[JimRom]

Primer will be necessary on the new wood, don't forget.

[sportsgal]

Shouldn't you prime if the new paint base is different from the existing one, e.g., switching from oil-based paint to latex?

I also use two coats for any interior or exterior paint project. You get better coverage and hit those spots you miss the first time, plus the color will be truer after a second coat.

[JimRom]

Yes, if switching from oil to latex you should prime. However, I can't think of the last time I saw an exterior painted with oil-based paint, so I didn't mention it. Probably should have though, anything is possible. Thanks for pointing it out.

[mrpeatie]

Make sure to prep pretty well first. Usually a good pressure washing is adequate. If need be you can spot sand if you have any odd spots/peeling paint after that.