In this video, This Old House host Kevin O’Connor and painting contractor Rich O’Neil show how to properly prepare a house for paint.

Project details

Skill

Cost

Estimated Time

Steps for prepping an exterior for paint

  • Set up scaffolding for easy access to the house wall.
  • Staple a plastic tarp to the lowest course of siding to catch paint chips.
  • Don dust mask and safety glasses, then use a pull-style paint scraper to scrape loose paint from the siding. Tungsten-carbide-blade scrapers stay sharper longer, but steel-blade scrapers are cheaper and can easily be re-sharpened with a file.
  • Always scrape in the direction of the wood grain to prevent damaging the siding.
  • Remember to scrape paint from the lower lip (butt edge) of the siding, too.
  • Remove any remaining paint with an electric random-orbit sander fitted with 24-grit disk. Connect the sander to a vacuum equipped with a HEPA filter.
  • Keep the sander moving at all times to avoid sanding a depression into the siding.
  • Feather-sand the edges of sound, well-adhered paint down to bare wood.
  • Sand rust from nail heads, then set and caulk the nail holes.
  • Use a molding scraper to remove paint from convex shapes.
  • Chemical strippers can be used to loosen paint from intricate moldings.
  • An electric infrared paint stripper uses heat to release the paint’s adhesion to the siding.
  • Hold the infrared stripper in place for one minute, then immediately scrape off the softened paint.

Tools

Pro Tip: Consider Painting in Cooler Temps

“Cool weather makes fall the best time to paint the outside of a house. But it shouldn’t be too cool. Latex paint won’t cure properly if the temperature falls below 50 degrees F,” says Mauro Henrique, TOH painting expert.

Tools & Materials

  • Scaffolding
  • Staple gun
  • Dust mask
  • Safety glasses
  • Pull scraper
  • Molding scrapers
  • Random orbit sander
  • Caulk gun
  • SpeedHeater Infrared paint stripper
  • Hammer
  • Nailset