Painting weatherboard houses makes up a large part of our jobs. We are weatherboard painters Ascot Vale, and all over Melbourne, afterall. We’ve seen them in all shapes and sizes. And in all conditions. As exterior house painters, we have some experience in these matters.
We’ve seen pre-primed boards. Stripped weatherboard houses back to bare wood. Dealt with more bubbles than Moet. And more flakes than Cadburys. And whilst everyone is unique, they all require a little tender, love and care. Or as we weatherboard painters call it, sanding, filling and gapping.
Ascot Vale – Weatherboard House Painters
This weatherboard house had new Fibre Cement Weatherboards on it, the old ones had seen a hundred years of neglect. These new weatherboards shouldn’t rot, get termites and best of all shouldn’t expand, contract, move, endlessly produce resin, push out nails and weather quite so fast.
But it’s the same process for us weatherboard painters. Sanding, filling, gapping, priming and painting.
Fibre Cement Weatherboards are by there nature low maintenance, and we always apply a premium exterior paint, Dulux Weathershield in most cases. Giving a quality, long lasting painted finish.
Paints Used:
Dulux Weathershield Low Sheen – Tranquil Retreat
Dulux Weathershield Gloss – White
Front Door -Dulux Weathershield Gloss – Angry Ocean
It’s great to live in Kensington. Because it’s full of Weatherboard Houses. And because we love to paint them. We are the Kensington weatherboard house painters.
It’s instant satisfaction, to see the results of what you’ve done almost straight away. So check out our Facebook post, to see the work in progress, https://www.facebook.com/sterlingpainters/
Yes, we were the interior house painters too! The blue trim caused us many problems, due to it’s dark shade. As a result we just undercoated it three times! Normally we undercoat all the trim just once. Never ask ‘how many coats have you painted?’ to a painter. Chances are, the painter has done one more than you think.
Kensington Weatherboard House Painters
Exterior Paints, Colours and Sheen Levels:
Dulux Weathershield Semi Gloss – Tranquil Retreat
Dulux Weathershield Gloss – Lexicon
Rustkill Gloss – White
Dulux Weathershield Gloss – Vivid White
Dulux Weathershield Gloss – Monument
Interior Paints, Colours and Sheen Levels:
Dulux Wash & Wear Low Sheen – Natural White
Haymes Ultra Premium Expressions Ceiling Flat – White
Haymes Ultra Premium Ultratrim Acrylic Enamel Gloss – White
Why would we tell you how to paint your weatherboard house? Surely I’m just about to give the game away! Tell you all the secrets. Make myself redundant.
It’s relatively easy to do, all you need to do is prepare and paint afterall! I’m just about to list every step for you, so it’s even easier now. All you’re lacking now is number one, experience, fine you’re going to take longer but that’s okay, and number two, time.
Time. It’s the crucial thing. Time. Painting a weatherboard house takes time, a lot of time, far more time than you think.
An average single fronted would take 160 hours of prepartion and painting for an experienced exterior painter. If you’re great at DIY, then just add 50% more time to that.
So knowing that it’s going to take you at least 240 hours, 15 weekends to paint your house, I’m safe to let slide a few secrets. Yes, I’m having a latte and avocado smash whilst you’re painting this weekend…. ….and the next!
Weatherboard House Painting Check List
Before you start to paint the exterior of your house, there are a few other things to check.
Do you need to repair anything first?
Rotten weatherboards, windows, doors? Are other things causing problems, guttering that’s leaking?
Fixing a few simple things first:
Rusted metal gates/window parts/nail heads, sand first and then paint with metal primers.
Bleeding knots in the weatherboards, should be primed first.
Nails that need to be reset. Use a nail punch, sand prime and fill over.
Removing Old Paint:
If it’s flaking – get rid of it! Scrape off flaking paint.
Sand all the surfaces to a flat finish, that’s all the weatherboards! Sanding is very important not just in getting to a better surface but to promote better adhesion between the layers. Your paint job will last much longer if you sand everything.
Prime all bare wood
New weatherboards:
Most weatherboards now come preprimed. This is a transit primer designed to keep the boards in good condition in storage and transit and should not be confused with normal primer. All weatherboards must be primed prior to painting.
Exterior Painting Preparation
Don’t paint around door numbers, light fixtures (be sure to turn the power supply off), screens, door handles – remove them! It’s easier, will save you time and looks much better.
Fill holes with an exterior filler, two pack filler for high traffic areas.
Gap under weatherboards, this stops rain and moisture going up the back of the weatherboard. There are gap sealents designed for weatherboards, these have a much bigger stretch, so when your weatherboards move with the weather the gap won’t split.
Painting Weatherboards:
The easiest way to paint weatherboards is by brush. A good 88mm or 100mm brush is ideal.
Try to follow the sun around the house, as this dries any dew and means you won’t be working in the sun.
Start by painting the boards in a horizontal section, then more the ladder to the adjoining section untill you have painting the entire length of the wall. Lower the ladder and repeat the process until the wall is complete.
Remember to keep a wet edge.
Remember ladder proceedures. Always make sure your ladder is set up properly, extention hooks are securely in place, make sure of it’s footing, it should never lean to one side. It’s not too upright. You should never reach too far when painting, you should always have three points of contact to the ladder (use a s hook to attach paint can to the ladder), your free hand is for painting, look out for power lines, never step on the top three runs of a ladder. Check these everytime you move the ladder.
Painting Exterior Trim:
Paint windows, sashes, sills in the same order as the interior ones, working out from the sashes to the frames. Window sills bear the brunt of the weather and accumulated dirt. Give them an extra two or even three coats of paint, remember the underside.
Painting an exterior door, in the same order as interior doors, the panels first, then the middle vertical bar, the stiles, and finally the edges, working from top to bottom.
Always try to paint the top and bottom edge of the door, this will keep out moisture and stop rotting.
Railings and metal fence, use a lamb’s wool mitten applicator instead. The mitten applicator, allows you to grasp the railing, smearing on the paint as you move your hand up and down. Touch up with a brush. This may take three coats.
Wooden picket fences, use a small roller (100mm) with a long handle, touch up with a brush, again this may take three coats.
If you think it’s time to paint your weatherboard, then your friends have thought it for a long time! Time to hire your weatherboard painters.
Now that the BBQ season is just about over, it’s time to get your home painted, and ready for next year. We know it’s a social whirl, and impressions count. Has your weatherboard been letting you down? Does it show you up? Is it still in last years colours?
Shabby chic is not ‘in’ anymore, it’s not the 90’s. Peeling, blistering paint isn’t cool. We know it. Design magazines know it. Your friends know it, and they’ve been talking behind your back about your dated weatherboard house.
Traditional Master Painters
We at Sterling Painters only apply the world famous boutique Dulux Weathershield on weatherboards. Using time honoured techniques handed down generation to generation, father to son, such as sanding and painting. We’ll use buzzwords like small batch, fluid, stone ground and hand finished. We’ll even grow beards and stroke them whilst admiring our handywork.
Soon, you’ll be the envy of your friends. They’ll still talk behind your back, obviouly, but you can be safe in the knowledge that it’s just jealously.
“Plagued by bad weather, we still delivered on time. Okay. Whilst time restraints weren’t on me, I did promise the customer ‘by the weekend’, so we worked the weekend. Painting in the winter rain.” Sterling Exterior House Painters always go the extra mile.
The Colour Consultant did a fantastic job, the house looks great, in keeping with the neighbourhood, reflects the customers’ taste and best of all? It won’t look dated any time soon. I can pass on her details.
Painting in the Winter Rain
We used Norglass Marine Clear Varnish on the woodwork, as recommended by Footscray Paintspot. Difficult to use, but I’m told, the best product for the job. Always worth asking advise. We’re the painters, the experts on product application. The experts on product knowledge are the guys at the paint shop.
We also used semi gloss on everything else, this provides a slippy surface that dust and moisture find hard to stay on. Gloss is even better, but maybe a little too refective for some people’s taste!
