External Painting of Very Old Property

[skater]

I'm no slouch in the painting department. Hubby & I have paintedd many a property, however it is usually the internal only that we have needed to do. This time though, we have to paint the outside of a 40-50yr old home. It is fibro and the paint is still in good condition, however the wooden trim is in very poor condition. I'm pretty sure that it hasn't been painted since it was new and I'm assuming that the paint is lead based also.

Bearing this in mind, I'm sure the main body of the home will be fine to paint as is, but how should I treat the wooden trim? I'm really not looking forward to removing the old paint. Will a heat gun do the job, or is there something better to use?

 

[Sunfish]

Take a sample of the paint and get it tested for lead.

It it's OK, forget electric heat guns. If your insurance is OK with "applying heat to the structure" go for a gas burner, then water blast it. To finish there is a 3M fibre disc for around $10 ea which fits on a 4" side grinder which will go back to bare wood without scouring.

I did a large log-cabin chamfer this way. The result was excellent.

 

[knightm]

Sure you don't want to use as an opportunity to add value via cladding with something a bit more modern? Some of the hardiplank/weathertex products are pretty good looking or blue board and render?

 

[vaughan]

Wife and I just did a 60s fibro. No need for a lead test: it's got lead.

This is a keeper not just a quick reno job so we wanted a good paint job that minimised long-term maintenance in the future. We scraped paint where it needed it but left it were it was still good and solid. We undercoated then gave 2 coats of paint. Didn't bother filling to get a piano-like smooth finish, I like the "old but well maintained" look.

Only thing we got wrong was painting soon after rain. Yesterday (after 2 weeks) I noticed that 2 window ledges had some bubbles appearing due to the hot sun making the moisture boil under the new paint. Scraped it off and will wait for it to dry then pain again.

Windows take a lot of time, especially double-hung sash.

 

[pennyk]

take the opportunity to "treat" yourselves, and help the economy...hire a painter!!

 

[skater]

take the opportunity to "treat" yourselves, and help the economy...hire a painter!!

LOL! I tried that!

I rang no less than five painters and the PM called several others. Only one bothered to answer. It's a very small, 3 bedroom ex-housing commission place. The quote was $7000 cash or $7500 plus GST if I wanted a receipt.

So.......I guess I'm doing it myself.

 

[amiaow]

Don't use a heat gun on lead based paint- it releases toxic fumes and can make you rather sick. If you're going to sand it, use a P2 mask and hope the neighbours don't get curious.

The strip disc mentioned above (Josco Brumby strip disc I think it is called) that you attach to your angle grinder is great for stripping paint back to wood (or in our case, removing a crackled top coat of acrylic over layers of lead and then enamel). You could use this on the wood trim parts but not the fibro.

To make your paint stick better when you reapply it, use an oil based primer and you can add Penetrol or something similar to help it to penetrate the substrate. Then two coats of acrylic (Weathershield/Endure/your paint of choice).

Rest happy knowing that the next time you paint it, it should be much easier!

 

[lizzie]

You can buy lead test kits from Bunnings for around $20. Just rough up some of the paint, rub on the tester and it will tell you if there is lead or not.

Don't bother with a heat gun. I've tried stripping a window with such and it was the biggest and most difficult pain in the backside. I'd just hit it with a sander (make sure you have your mask on if lead) and whip some paint over it.

 

[beachside]

I'm no slouch in the painting department. Hubby & I have paintedd many a property, however it is usually the internal only that we have needed to do. This time though, we have to paint the outside of a 40-50yr old home.

Why are you worried about preparation this time, I didn't think anything got in the way of you and a loaded up brush of Mission Brown externally

Tradies are the same, whether 10 km from home or 1000 km, very unreliable. $7k to paint a small house (assuming flat block) ..... I had one the same size painted for $4500 using Solagard, which was a mid range of quotes. It was not fibro but weatherboard which had to be stripped back all over and on scaffolding as it was high set. This included gutters, facia, eves - it did have aluminium windows though. I painted the lower half myself which was fibro - easy with the roller. I know a few investors who have their own spray equipment and knock over a house in no time ....and even less stands in their way I do prefer to brush or roll as I am making direct contact with the surface, just feel more confident in it sticking.

 

[skater]

Why are you worried about preparation this time, I didn't think anything got in the way of you and a loaded up brush of Mission Brown externally .

Cheeky!

I'm not worried about the fibro. That's the easy part. Just more concerned about getting the old stuff off the windows and I want to do it right, especially since it's lead based.

Tradies are the same, whether 10 km from home or 1000 km, very unreliable. $7k to paint a small house (assuming flat block) ..... I had one the same size painted for $4500 using Solagard, which was a mid range of quotes. It was not fibro but weatherboard which had to be stripped back all over and on scaffolding as it was high set. This included gutters, facia, eves - it did have aluminium windows though. I painted the lower half myself which was fibro - easy with the roller. I know a few investors who have their own spray equipment and knock over a house in no time ....and even less stands in their way I do prefer to brush or roll as I am making direct contact with the surface, just feel more confident in it sticking.

We've got a friend with a spray gun, but I still prefer to do it the old fashioned way too.

 

[beachside]

Why not just use paint stripper for the timber - you can scrape it off damp which overcomes any concern with dust sanding or fumes from burning. I have heard that the citrus based strippers are friendly to the environment and to the paint - so next to useless. I sometimes use costic soda for stripping paint off things - may be a touch too strong for timber but as it won't be soaking in it you will only be softening the paint - brush over a few times. Err, don't use a pure bristle brush - the caustic soda will remove those too

 

[Leghorn]

In my experience the stripper doesn't work satisfactorily and will take hours to do the job

 

[skater]

I've bought some stripper, but unlikely we will get it started this weekend. Still doing the interior. Then Hubby has an operation next week, so we've got two weeks where nothing will get done. After that, there's a comp we've got to go & judge. It will take up both weekend days. Hmmm......not enough time, another reason we were looking for someone else to do the job.