Exterior painting question

[espyking83]

Hey,

Looking to paint the exterior trim of the house soon. Was wondering if it would be ok to sand the paint off and leave it for a few days before paint application. Have painted anything from cars to aircraft, never touched wood lol

 

[tncatadjuster]

If it is wood, it was a tree. Should be good for a few days unless rotten then it will be a sponge. I wood do it.

 

[Willjd]

If it is wood, it was a tree. Should be good for a few days unless rotten then it will be a sponge. I wood do it.

Oh, I see what you did there.

 

[The Cobbler]

you'll be fine, but it's a lot of work to sand off paint . are you hoping to get to bare wood everywhere?

 

[nadogail]

I might Pressure Wash the house and then address any unsound wood or loose paint the pressure washing did not remove.

Any sound paint would just be painted over.

 

[gba2331]

Sanding is best but not always doable. I’ve had really good luck with scraping and using https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/primerx-peel-bonding-primer

 

[wolfhawk73]

I might Pressure Wash the house and then address any unsound wood or loose paint the pressure washing did not remove.

Any sound paint would just be painted over.

This. Any reason why you want all the paint off first?

 

[hefnerconstructionlc]

Unless the surface looks terrible I would avoid sanding to bare wood. If sanding to bare wood you will need to prime with exterior wood primer and then 1-2 topcoats of paint. If you sand, but don't go to bare wood, you will avoid needing to perform the primer step.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Taking exterior trim down to bare wood is a lot of work, as mentioned. Also will have to be sealed/primed (depending upon what you're working with.)
Also mentioned: scraping.
Some stuff you can get done a lot faster with less work with a good scraper. Depends on what you're working with.
If you're good with a scraper, you can take off only what you need to and leave a smooth surface ready to paint- not always necessary (or desirable) to go all the way down to bare wood - brings the grain up on soft trim woods (hemlock/fir.)

 

[billconner]

I removed the aluminum siding installed over wood clapboards on a largish house - 30x36 2 story - and having tried a lot of methods, believe a good carbide blade scraper - several actually with lots of spare blades - is the easiest. Not easy but easier than chemicals, sanders, the Paint Shaver, etc. There were few places where paint was really thick a heat plate helped.

Well, easiest would be hiring someone.

 

[Hank11]

No to pressure washing. Yes to scraping for the best look, but its a lot of work. You don’t have to take it to 100% bare wood, just get the loose stuff off and make it flat.

 

[billconner]

If scraping, expect tennis elbow and wear a mask. I was diagnosed with lead poisoning. Sanding would be worse.

 

[Skiff Builder]

I'm surprised no one here has mentioned the Porter Cable 7403 paint remover. I've owned one since the early 90's.
Uses a carbide disk and has adjusters to set angle/depth.
One pass on clapboards gets you to bare wood ready for primer.
Works on flat trim boards.
I actually did my entire house of cedar sidewall shingles- not really what tool was designed for but it worked.
3.5 days labor saved $20,000 in new siding on that job.

 

[imagineer]

I'm surprised no one here has mentioned the Porter Cable 7403 paint remover. I've owned one since the early 90's.
Uses a carbide disk and has adjusters to set angle/depth.
One pass on clapboards gets you to bare wood ready for primer.
Works on flat trim boards.
I actually did my entire house of cedar sidewall shingles- not really what tool was designed for but it worked.
3.5 days labor saved $20,000 in new siding on that job.

Any idea how the cutters hold up when they hit a nail head?

I'm repainting my house now (T-111 plywood siding). I'm using a 2.375" carbide bladed scraper for removing the loose paint. The carbide blades have received some chips from where I hit nail heads that are proud of the siding surface.

 

[oldmachinenut]

I used a heat gun and various scrapers to strip the posts and railings on our 1903 Victorian. I stripped, filled, and sanded then applied oil based exterior primer followed by 2 coats of paint. It came out real nice but took considerably longer than I expected. Being it is a 120 year old house there was lead paint explaining why I constantly hear Jimmi Hendrix playing “Purple Haze” and there are no radios in sight.

 

[Skiff Builder]

Any idea how the cutters hold up when they hit a nail head?

I'm repainting my house now (T-111 plywood siding). I'm using a 2.375" carbide bladed scraper for removing the loose paint. The carbide blades have received some chips from where I hit nail heads that are proud of the siding surface.

The tool uses a carbide grit disc, not blades or cutters. You have the leading edge of the disc raised a little higher than the trailing edge.
In my experience it will grind (sand) the nail head as it passes. Never had a hang up or ruin a disc.
The first step for me in any re paint is to replace any bad boards than re set any protruding fasteners ( easy to find, just run a 6" putty knife over the surface).

 

[oldmachinenut]

The end result.

 

[Bert_]

The big reason to scrape or sand down to wood is because your paint is unstable or excessive build up.

I have scraped paint with a heat gun and can vouch that it works pretty well. Actually if you're doing a large area a couple heat guns taped together can about double your speed.

 

[imagineer]

I'm surprised no one here has mentioned the Porter Cable 7403 paint remover.

Thanks for the suggestion. I just ordered one and a few extra disks.

 

[Youngandfree]

I used a heat gun and various scrapers to strip the posts and railings on our 1903 Victorian. I stripped, filled, and sanded then applied oil based exterior primer followed by 2 coats of paint. It came out real nice but took considerably longer than I expected. Being it is a 120 year old house there was lead paint explaining why I constantly hear Jimmi Hendrix playing “Purple Haze” and there are no radios in sight.

Around my area the homes like that all get scraped and sanded for the restoration paint job.

 

[imagineer]

Just wanted to add that this thing is great. It's at least 5x faster than manual scraping of the old paint and does a much more thorough job. FWIW, I keep it set to the minimum depth of cut.

I will say however, the ergonomics are awful. Using the fixed and adjustable handles, it's difficult to keep even pressure on the cutting disk. I find it easier to hold the tool with two hands, under the handles, around the base of the motor.

Even with the awkward handling, this qualifies as the best $$ spent on a new (used) tool. Good suggestion Skiff.

 

[Skiff Builder]

Just wanted to add that this thing is great. It's at least 5x faster than manual scraping of the old paint and does a much more thorough job. FWIW, I keep it set to the minimum depth of cut.

I will say however, the ergonomics are awful. Using the fixed and adjustable handles, it's difficult to keep even pressure on the cutting disk. I find it easier to hold the tool with two hands, under the handles, around the base of the motor.

Even with the awkward handling, this qualifies as the best $$ spent on a new (used) tool. Good suggestion Skiff.

Glad it's working out for you. I found I really had to dial in both adjusting rails just right. Behaved better moving along the siding.
I smile whenever using it.

Any pics of the job?

 

[imagineer]

Any pics of the job?

It took about 3 hours to strip this much area.

 

[Norcal]

I'm surprised no one here has mentioned the Porter Cable 7403 paint remover. I've owned one since the early 90's.
Uses a carbide disk and has adjusters to set angle/depth.
One pass on clapboards gets you to bare wood ready for primer.
Works on flat trim boards.
I actually did my entire house of cedar sidewall shingles- not really what tool was designed for but it worked.
3.5 days labor saved $20,000 in new siding on that job.

Is it still available? The garbage makers at Stanley/Black & Decker have gutted Porter-Cable.

 

[billconner]

Another similar:

Paint Stripping Tools

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