Techniques for Painting Exterior Trim.

Exterior trim gives the first impression of your home a sense of style and taste. It is the first thing that is noted by passers-by, visitors, and even potential buyers if you have to have listed your home for sale.
In addition, the trim is also important because it helps tie your exterior’s look together and typically provides eye-catching contrast with the siding color. If you’re planning to repaint your exterior trim, the following handy techniques will help make your project easier and result in stunning results. But for starters…

What is an exterior trim?
An exterior trim consists of finish materials located on the outer side of a standard building, a family house or just any other building such as the molding that is applied around the openings. These openings comprise of doors and windows which in this we will refer to them as door trim and window trim respectively. Exterior trim may also include the attic vents, crawl space vents, and shutters.

Tools needed for painting an exterior trim.
As highlighted before, exterior trim has to give an attractive impression to an outsider. In achieving this, proper tools have to be used for its painting since it contains small subdivision area that requires special attention, unlike any other big flat surface. Exterior trims need to be prepared well by cleaning before the actual painting of the area takes place. The following are some of the tools you will need in this process.

• Paintbrush: Since an exterior trim is made up of relatively several small areas, an appropriate paint brush for applying the paint should be large enough to match and perfectly fits in the trim. An extra-large paint brush helps to cut down the lap marks of the paint.

• Right finish: The finish should be proper, and of high quality, the final coating summarizes all the job for the other tools. For the most attractive look, opt for paint with a higher-sheen finish so that it stands out from the siding.

• Sandpaper: The sandpaper should be adequate. This is because it may be used in two ways depending on the exterior trim’s surface itself. It is used for scrubbing old coat of the trim if it had initially been painted. It may also be used to smoothen the surface of a new trim.

• Wash brush: A wash brush here is used for general cleaning and scrubbing dirt and any other sticky residue off the trim before painting begins.

• Bleaching agent: An appropriate bleaching agent such as a solution of water and sodium phosphate can be prepared. The bleaching agent is for spraying the trim. It cleanses the surface of the trim.

• Clean water: Clean water here is used for rinsing the trim surface after scrubbing and washing off the sticky residues.

• Protective work gear; the protective gear ensures your safety and general cleanliness throughout the work. It is generally mandatory for one to put on protective gear before commencing on such work that involves lots of sanding and tough chemicals.

Painting the trim
• Put on the protective work gear and assemble all the tools that you will need throughout the work. Before taking a paintbrush to your exterior trim, you must properly prepare the surface. If the trim has previously been painted, scrape off the old coats using sandpaper.
• For an effective exterior cleanser, mix a cup of bleach, a cup of trisodium phosphate and a gallon of water, and spray it over your trim. Follow with a stiff-bristled brush and scrub the area clean of any dirt, mold and other residues
• Wash the area with water and rinse it properly with plenty of running water. You can use a hosepipe on this.
• Leave the trim to dry and then apply a coat of an exterior primer. Once the primer dries, follow it with a coat of paint from top down. Painting from the top gives the best results since it avoids smudging and dripping of paint on areas that have already been painted. Smooth out the brush marks as the paint dries slowly.

Conclusion
That is a quick overview on how you can repaint your exterior trim and give your house that sharp, outstanding look. The project sounds relatively easy, but if you’re dealing with trims on tall exterior wall, it can be quite challenging. If you need any help refreshing the look of your trim, call us today and we will be happy to help.