Painting, Faux Finishing/Woodgraining/ Shutters

Painting  or woodgraining/faux finishing shutters around your windows is an another way to add beauty and continuity to the exterior of your home.   Matching the colors in your wood, metal, or fiberglass exterior doors will help your home standout as a showpiece. Custom color matching the shutters to a solid color is a way to draw attention to the unique features of your home.

 

This picture shows a woodgrained garage door and shutters that have 

been matched to the wood knotty alder wood door.

 

This picture shows a close up of the woodgrained shutter.

Seely Painting, Inc. 

Thank you, Forever

Today is December 7, 2011.   On December 7, 1941, life in the United States changed forever when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

  

This day is probably not remembered by younger generations.  But

 we remember because we have family members who served in WWII. 

Although that was seventy years ago,  we thank them and all their family members for the sacrifices they made  

to ensure our freedom and liberty today. 

  We say thank you  with hearts of gratitude 

to our military veterans who served then 

and are currently serving.  

Seely Painting, Inc.

The Most Popular Post

We write posts about subject that we think will be of interest.  Finishing a project satisfies the creative nature in all of us.   Watching the statistics of the most popular posts viewed is satisfying and surprising. So far the most popular post is "Preparing and Staining Wood Banisters, with over 550 views.   Thank you.

Seely Painting, Inc.  

Failing Paint---Check the Rain Gutters

When a specific spot on a fascia or sofit  fails and the rest of the fascia is good, look for external problems.   We had paint company representatives go to a job site to determine why the paint was failing in an area.  Upon further investigation by the representative, fall leaves and twigs  were found plugging the down spout. It is possible that the  water couldn't get down the drain spout. If  water had frozen in the top of  spout, it couldn't drain.  The only place the water could go was under the wood of the fascia or soffit.   There might be other reasons, but this is one possible explanation why the paint failed. 
  
Any problem of failing paint on one specific area could also apply to other areas of failing paint.  We have seen paint fail and blister on window seals.
Sometimes the problem is water seeping, or it might be the direction the home is facing in the summer.  

Seely Painting, Inc. 

Painting Guarantees

When a paint job is failing on an exterior, look for possible causes. An example of a problem might be  a portion of a fascia is blistering and nowhere else on the fascia paint is blistering.  Because no other areas on the fascia were failing, there is probably another external cause.   There might be  water seeping under the surface.  Until you know the real problem of the paint failure, painting again would result in failure.

If you have a good painter, the he should  guarantee the work for a year and be willing to take care of any problems.  If he doesn't know why the paint is failing, he will contract other experts who deal in siding, metal gutters, or paint composition.  If we don't know the answer, we ask a company representative to look at a problem and give an opinion. Often the paint problem cannot be properly assessed until the representative looks at the problem on site. The paint company should also guarantee the paint for a certain numbers of years.

When painting old siding, call a professional painter or your quality paint representative.  A qualified painter will contact a paint representative if he is working with unfamiliar surfaces. Special preparations might be  necessary to help your paint adhere better.   Sometimes no special preparation is necessary. 

Be sure to keep any touch up paint so that unforeseen paint problems can be remedied.

If you have a painting problem, don't be afraid that ask for help at your quality paint store.

Seely Painting, Inc.

Interior Painting Remodels and Redos

This week we completed the interior  painting of an 80 year-old home.  The home had previously been a rental.   The interior had not been painted for at least 15 years.   The walls were lath and plaster, not wall board.    This is how we proceeded to repaint the interior. 

• The bathroom walls were papered.   The wallpaper was removed with a wallpaper remover solution mixed in hot water.  Be sure to check with your quality paint store about the best wall paper remover.  Read the instructions carefully   The solution was applied with a spray bottle and left for several hours.   As we removed the wall paper, portions of the plaster crumbled.

• We repaired the plaster with three skim coats of quick dry mud. We allowed each coat to dry.  Between every coat we lightly sanded the walls.   A primer- sealer was applied.
•  The kitchen ceiling was treated with a stain killer because of the smoke and grease.    The ceilings were sprayed and rolled.  
• All interior walls, wood work and doors were prepared by lightly sanding.   This  sanding takes of any dirt or grease.   Any necessary repairs(holes or dings) were repaired and primed.
• Two  finish-coats of paint were applied to walls and doors. The walls were sprayed and rolled. This project was a three-tone paint job.
• Kitchen cabinets were painted wood.  The fronts were sanded smooth and painted.   The knobs and handles were replaced with new hardware .  

The vinyl and carpet were replaced so we were able to spray and roll the interior walls.    If the flooring had not been replaced the painting would have been hand rolled. 

Seely Painting, Inc. 

Turkeys don't fly----they shouldn't drive either

This is an advertisement we received from Woods & Woods LLC.  

It is definitely worth  sharing. 

Click to watch our video!

This year, millions of people will be traveling for Thanksgiving. If you’re planning a trip, remember to:

• Check your tire pressure, oil, and car fluids to avoid car problems along the way.
• Enter your destination into your GPS before you begin the trip.
• Make sure everyone wears a seat belt.
• Save phone calls and texting for later.
• Stop to fill up your gas tank once it reaches a quarter tank—don’t let it get to empty.
• Bring games if you’re traveling with small children,
  but don’t get distracted by them yourself.

And remember, turkeys don’t fly—but they shouldn’t drive either. Watch out for unsafe drivers, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Seely Painting, Inc. 

Interior Painting--Spraying & Back Rolling

We have been working with another painter on a professional building.  Yesterday we did the touch ups on his work.   Sadly, the touch up spots flashed; i.e., the areas we touched up went shiny and flat.  The other painter did not back roll the painting surface after he sprayed the paint on the surface.   We will have to repaint the walls where we touched up.  

Here is  professional painting secret to use when painting a new surface.

Priming

• Back roll a new drywall surface.  This means that after you spray the drywall surface with primer that you hand roll the surface with a roller.   Doing this assures  the primer will saturate the drywall surface. 
• Sprayed primer will only coat the surface. It won't saturate the drywall surface.

• If doing the painting yourself, spray the primer on a small section, then back roll it with the roller.   This does take more time, but the end results are worth the effort.

Finish Coat 

•  Follow the same procedure with the finish coat.  
• Spray a section then back roll with a hand roller.   Doing this will make sure the paint saturates the surface and doesn't just sit on the surface.
• The process will go more quickly of there are two individual doing the painting.  One individual sprays the paint, while the second individual comes behind and rolls the paint.   

Spraying the paint on extra heavy does not do the same thing.   In fact, spraying surface extra heavy will cause runs and extra work. Extra time will be spent going back to catch or repaint where the runs occurred.
Take a little extra time to spray and back roll so your efforts look professional. 


Touch Up Paint

• Keep the extra paint in a tightly sealed can and clearly labeled. 

When there are nicks or damages to your painting surface, you can touch them up with a brush or roller.  The touch ups won't show.    You might be interested in a  home where the primer and finished coats were sprayed and back rolled by hand.  

Seely Painting, Inc. 

Latex on Wood Banister

We recently received an inquiry about  spraying latex on a wood banister.   The answer in one word is ----Don't.
To  paint a wood banister follow the  basic procedure for painting banisters listed in our older post on painting handrails

Seely Painting, Inc. 

Check the Color

A few weeks a friend decided to paint an exterior shed.    A standard "redwood color"  was purchased at the local hardware store.  The color turned out to be a disaster.   The color we think of as red wood turned out to be barn red. The shed could be seen throughout the  neighborhood.   Luckily, I was able to change the color of the shed by mixing colorants  to  the remaining paint. The color was changed from barn red to a brown. The resulting color was much more pleasing.


So just a word of caution, be careful in the colors you choose.   Not every color has to be an  matched onsite.   But don't go by the name descriptions.  Even if there are samples of the color on wood.  Look at the color after it is mixed. Different woods take the colors differently.

Choose a color that is subdued and not the brightest.  If in doubt, purchase a small sample such as a pint or quart of the color first.  Apply the paint or stain and allow it to dry.  If it is the right color, then purchase a larger quantity.   

However, if you are actually painting a barn and want to show it off in the neighborhood, barn red is a great color.

Seely Painting, Inc. 

Woodgraining A Garage & Front Door

This week we began wood graining a metal garage door and a fiberglass front door to match.
Here are steps we followed:        

Garage Door 

Remember faux finishing  wood graining is a process requiring several steps to complete

• Prepare the door surface by cleaning it  with  thinner.   This will remove any dirt or oil that is on the surface.  Allow the surface to dry.  Be sure to determine if the garage door is metal or fiberglass.
• Fix and repair any dents or damaged panels.
• Brush and apply the first undercoat of paint to add depth and color.  Allow it to dry two or three days.
• Work on one panel at a time.  Working on multiple panels may be overwhelming. Painting one panel at a time allows you to to be creative .
• Starting on the top of the garage door allows you  to paint without dripping paint on finished panels below.   You feel very confident by the you have  finished twenty individual panels. 

•   Brush on and apply the second  undercoat of color.  This may be a slightly darker color to match the exterior surface you are trying to match.   Wipe off any excess paint,depending on the intensity of the color you want.  Add the texture.
• Work with one panel at a time. 
• The second coat is usually a custom color.   But if you know what color stain you want, a standard premixed color is great to use.  
• We recommend Old Masters custom stains.  This custom stain is the best quality we have found.   It has a thick consistency when applied. It has body.  Other stains are thin and watery.  Old Masters stain can be found at quality paint stores.
• Allow sufficient time for the paint to set up and dry thoroughly (48 hours).

•  Brush on and apply the third undercoat of color.  This is the final color coat. With this coat you can add final details of design, lighten or darken the color on the door.  Allow at least 24 hours for the paint to dry.
• Brush on and apply the final clear coat and sealant.  

Matching Front Door

Wood graining a matching front door follows  the same process as doing a garage door.  The process  and sequence of application of colors, stains, and textures are the same as the garage door

• Determine if the door is fiberglass or metal.

• Prepare the surface with a light sanding.   
• Fix and repair any damaged areas on the door and casing.
• Allow the repaired areas to dry.   Sand lightly to make the surface smooth.
• Brush off any sanding dust.

• Brush on and apply the first under coat of color.  
• If you are really ambitious, the garage door and front door can be done at the same time.  However, it's better to do one panel on the garage at a time, even if it takes a much longer time. Do the door on at a different time.  Just use the same colors in your undercoat.
• Allow the door and casing to dry before closing it so it doesn't stick to  the weather stripping.

•  Brush on and apply the third undercoat of color.  
• Allow the door and casing to dry before closing it so it doesn't stick to the weather stripping.
• Brush on  and apply the final sealant coat.   
• Allow the door and casing to dry before closing to so it doesn't stick to the weather stripping. 

These steps are only summaries of the wood graining process.   

Please call us or ask for help at your quality paint store.
You might be interested in pictures of the wood graining process 
of a garage door and matching front door. 

Seely Painting,Inc.