Home Painting Home Painting How to do it Right

							      The voice of experience

                          Mark Knaebe, Forest Products Laboratory

     H o m e Painting H o m e Painting
             H o w t o Do It R i g h t
            ainting a home’s exterior in the afternoon. Your home’s west wall, on
            fall requires special attention and the other hand, should be painted early
            preparation. Cooler temperatures in the day-as soon as the morning dew
     and the shifting position of the sun will dries. The north side can be painted at
    have an impact on your home’s surface any time.
    and paint. Steps to take now to make sure        l Your home’s walls may have to

    the job is done right...                     be treated first. Many people don’t
        l Latex is better than oil-even in       know whether they need to strip off old
    the fall. In many parts of the country, paint...use a primer...or simply add a
    painting a home in early autumn means new layer of paint to the surface. The
    contending with cooler temperatures. wrong decision will make the job more
    That’s why many people choose oil- difficult or even require you to repaint
    based paints, which can be applied even next spring.
    if temperatures fall to as low as 40°.               To determine if your walls
           Better: Despite oil paint’s cold- need to be treated: Pick an inconspic-
    weather advantage, you’re better off se- uous spot on your house—one where the
    lecting a latex paint and waiting for a paint is in pretty bad shape. Clean a small
    warm day. Latex paints typically require section-no larger than one square
    24 hours of at least 50° temperatures to foot-and let it stand until dry to the
    dry properly Oil paints generally can’t touch.
    compete with today’s modern latex paints        Then paint a single coat. After waiting
    when it comes to durability. As oil paint one day, stick an adhesive bandage or a
    ages, it becomes increasingly brittle. piece of duct tape on the new paint and
    Latex paints age much better.                snap it off. What the results will tell you...
           Even if temperatures drop below              If no paint has been removed:
    50° the night after you paint, you won’t Then it is safe to add a new layer of paint
    necessarily have a problem. If there without stripping the wood or using any
    were a few hours of temperatures in primer.
    the 60°s right after you painted, your              If the new paint comes off but
    home would be fine.                          not the old paint: You can probably get
           With latex paints, price is usually a by without stripping the wood if you apply
    good indicator of quality. Also, look for a primer coat first.
    100% acrylic latex, not vinyl latex.                If both the new and old paint
        l Don’t paint your south wall until
                                                 come off: The old paint needs to be
    the afternoon. The sun is lower in the stripped off.
    sky during the autumn months. So                 Even if the adhesive bandage or duct
    while your roof absorbs most of its          tape comes off clean, you’ll still need to
    direct rays in summer, your house’s wash the house with a cleaning solu-
    walls-the south wall in particular— tion, such as Spic & Span, or with a
    take the brunt of the sun’s heat in the more powerful bleach solution if patch-
    fall. That can mean a potential painting es of gray or black mildew persist.
    disaster, since painting over a warm            The cleaning solution can be applied
    surface changes the way the paint dries      with a sponge mop. If you use a bleach
    and can cause blistering.                    solution, be sure to hose down the
                                                 house 10 minutes after applying. Also
           Better: Wait until 3 pm or so be- take basic precautions, such as wearing
    fore painting the south side of your
    home if it receives a lot of sun. As long rubber gloves and goggles.                           n
                                                    Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Mark Knaebe,
    as you complete the job at least two surface chemist with Forest Products Laboratory, USDA
    hours before evening, painting late in Forest Service laboratory investigating the durability of
    the day shouldn’t be a problem-unless paints and other problems relating to wood products,
                                                          Pinchot Dr., Madison,                  He is
    it is a particularly cool night. The 1 Giffordof Finishes for Exterior Wisconsin 53705. Appli-
                                                 coauthor                       Wood: Selection,
    east side of your home should be paint- cation and Maintenance (Forest Products Society, 608-
    ed late in the morning or early in the 231-1361/$19.95).

                                                             Bottom Line
6                                                                     PERSONAL
                                                                                                         OCTOBER 1, 1997