House Painting

It's Different Strokes for Different Folks 

When a house was painted in the 1940’s, chances were high it didn’t need a touch up for another 20 years or so.

"But paint breaks down easily now," say John Princiotta, a painting contractor from Boxborough. "They took out all the good stuff. They took the lead out."

Not only did the U.S. government in 1977 restrict the content of lead pigment of household paint to .06 percent by weight of the dried film, but it also restricted mercury content. Together, lead and mercury gave paint better bonding power and killed mildew, which can destroy exterior house paint. However, the combination caused harm, and even death, to living things including the environment, children, and painters, so they were removed.

Today’s exterior house paint also competes with acidic rainfalls and increased automotive traffic, including diesel-fueled vehicles, that leave harmful residue. These are among the primary reasons you may find the paint on your home does not last as long as the paint on the home in which you grew up.

Even with the greatest paint job in the world, Princiotta says, you’ll be lucky to get five years before it’s got to be touched up or redone. Also, mildewcide in paint and stain products are often only guaranteed for two years, which may be one reason area painters offer only a two-year guarantee.

The best way to get the most from your exterior paint is to have all the preparation work done carefully and accurately and to use only high quality finishes and primers, says John Princiotta.

There’s a lot to know from the condition of the wood being painted, to where the house is situated. Weather is key, as is choosing latex or oil, paint or stain. Figure your painting schedule to be 80 percent preparation work and 20 percent applying the finish coat. Each home is individual in its conditions and needs. What works well for one person may not work best for another.

Do the work yourself, and factor in the cost of quality products at about $25 to $35 a gallon, brushes, drop cloths and pizzas for any friends helping out. If time is not of the essence, do one wall at a time at your own pace--just remember to add a finish coat over the primer within two weeks.

So what if it takes a year. The world has continued on its orbit during more catastrophic events.

If you choose to hire a contractor, expect to pay between $4,000 and $5,000 for scraping (not down to the bare wood), priming and a finish coating to a 2,000 square foot house, says Princiotta. Add more for a larger house--particularly extra heights, detailing, lead-paint removal (which must be done by a certified remover) and carpentry work for wood rot caused by moisture trapped inside of a bad paint job.

Applied properly, fresh paint or stain keeps your home looking good and protects your primary investment, says Princiotta. It is time to repaint when you see peeling (often attributed to latex paint) and/or cracking (a characteristic of oil paint).

Work should only be done on clear, dry days. Princiotta will not paint exteriors on dry days if it rained the day before. The wood needs to dry thoroughly. Painting over moisture you can’t see on the back side of the wood is an invitation for early peeling. The water has to exit eventually and will just push the finish coat out of its way to do so.

You cannot paint in freezing temperatures, say Princiotta, and you should try not to paint in direct sunlight. "Follow the shade around."

Check the condition of your wood. If the end of a knife pushes in easily, "it’s no good."says Princiotta. Rotted wood needs to be replaced or repaired.

Powerwash and/or scrape the existing finish to ready the surface. Allow 10 days for the wood to dry after powerwashing, says Princiotta. If you don’t know what your existing finish is, Princiotta has a quick test. Bend a paint chip. If it snaps, it’s oil, otherwise it’s latex. Thick layers of latex will also snap, he says, "but not as loudly as oil."

It’s important to know what you’re painting over. Putting fresh latex over layers of oil will result in peeling in about a year’s time. Brush latex over an oil-based primer for optimal effect on most homes, Princiotta adds. Oil-based primer is best, he says, because latex primers do not seal and penetrate the pores in the wood as well. Open pores provide gateways for paint foes moisture and mildew.

Give your primer three to six days to dry before applying the finish coat, says Princiotta. And, he adds, "Do not thin out your paint primer. It’s thick for a reason."

Oil paint is also called alkyd and is made up of acids and alcohols. There is no rubber in today’s latex, but synthetic rubber was a main ingredient when it was first made after World War II. Now it is either pure acrylic, vinyl-acrylic or vinyl-acetate. Oil never stops curing, latex cures in about two weeks.

Stains, which are increasing in popularity because of their resistance to early peeling and improved color selection, are a different story, Princiotta says. Stains allow wood to breathe a little better because they are thinner than paint. They also allow the grain of the wood to show through, so they look better.

If your house is on a busy street or in the middle of acres of fields, you may want to consider finish coats of high-or semi-gloss, says Princiotta. Yes, your house will shine a while, but the extra gloss provides better protection from the dirt-filled winds constantly blowing on it. It will also clean better.

Some painters recommend high-gloss under certain circumstances, Princiotta only goes as high as semi-gloss. However, shadows cast on your home from trees and/or other structures may cause the gloss to fade unevenly.

When the work is completed, Princiotta recommends keeping the surface clean. Set aside half a Saturday each year for touch ups, he adds.

The decisions are many, but so are the resources. Some of the major paint labels provide informative web pages. Tap into people, such as longtime paint and hardware store employees as well as painters, books and news stories. Opinions vary, which can be confusing.

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