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Painting your timber garden shed
or wendy-house is a great task to do at any time of year
– either to protect the wood against the elements,
or simply to give it a great new look. As with any exterior
paint project, both the choice of paint and the surface
preparation is key if you want a quality paint finish that
will last.
Here are a few simple tips we shared
with a group of volunteers who wanted to transform an adventure-playground
timber-clad hut in East London from something covered in
graffiti (!) into an uplifting and durable play zone for
kids to have fun in.
The challenge for most people when painting
exteriors is to get it done as fast as possible –
good weather doesn’t always hang around as long
as we like. The project PQI supported needed to be done
in a day – 100qm of wood with a lot of prep. work
required. Careful planning made it all possible.
The key to a great exterior paint job is
to plan carefully what you are going to need to do:
- What colour scheme? We recommended
bold primary colours – bold blue, vibrant yellow
and dynamic red, with red being the strong accent colour.
PQI
Tip:
draw a large scale plan on an A3 sheet of paper and
colour in with crayons what surfaces should be painted
what colour – and distribute it to anyone helping
you with the job, which was roughly 25 people in this
case!
- How much paint? Check out our paint
calculator (http://www.paintquality.co.uk/manage/)
to work out how much paint you will need
- What type of paint? We recommend
a top quality water-borne acrylic exterior wood paint
for excellent durability and colour retention, as well
as relatively quick-drying, low odour and ease of clean-up,
not to mention superior environmental compatability.
PQI Tip:
check out with various retailers if they can provide
this type of product in the colours and quality you
want. A mid-sheen pure acrylic masonry paint would
also be an option worth considering as a fall-back.
Don’t forget to ask if the colours can be tinted.
As a last resort, try finding out where your nearest
trade outlet is and check that out too!
- What tools? Surface preparation requires
scraping off existing paint, so you will need a wire
brush and sanding paper or a sanding machine
- What protective equipment? Wearing
gloves and a protective mask is recommended for these
types of jobs, as is the wearing of protective goggles
or something similar.
- What time planning? Surface preparation
is the most time-consuming part of this type of paint
job, but equally the most important – for the
100qm wood hut here the team spent 2-3 hours scraping
off old paint!
Steps to Success
for Painting Exterior Wood:
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- Step 1: Start by scraping off
all existing paintwork – use a wire brush,
alternatively a metal knife or even a sanding machine
for this task. Wipe away all dust and dirt particles
as you go along, and again more thoroughly once
you have finished this task.
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- Step 2: Priming is crucial –
using a quick-drying pure acrylic primer for exterior
wood surfaces was a good choice here, helping ensure
that the top-coat gets maximum adhesion and so less
likely to crack or blister. Quick-drying water-based
acrylic exterior wood primers as described are commonly
available and dry in approximately 1.5 hours –
check on the label for precise details.
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- Step 3: Applying a high quality
top-coat in a great colour is probably the most
rewarding part of the job.
If you have time, allowing the first coat to dry
and then applying a second coat is ideal –
but even if you don’t have time for a second
coat, on no account sacrifice a coat of primer for
such a task! |
As a final tip, don’t forget that
not just rain is bad for an outside paint job. If
the conditions are too sunny/hot, or too windy, you
will find that either the paint dries somewhat too
fast, endangering the evenness of the finish, or in
the case of wind,
dust and dirt can easily be blown onto the still-wet
paint! |
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