House Painting

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Try to avoid using a torch or a power sander to remove oil paint. That's along, hard job and will probably take more time than you expect.

Minor repairs are best made at this point. If you come on bad siding or loose or weak eave troughs that weren't spotted in your original inspection, report the problem to the owner and hope to solve it without changing your estimate.

With the preliminaries out of the way, the painting can begin. Always start with the under-eaves at the topmost point and work downward.

How do you reach the upper siding on a house of two or more stories? One way is to use two extension ladders and ladder jacks with an extension plank. This arrangement takes teamwork to set up, is somewhat cumbersome to move and may consume more time than it saves. The alternative is to give each painter his own ladder and let him move as needed. With a little practice, a person can cover a large area in this manner.

Now a few miscellaneous hints to make the job easier and the results more professional:

If you have any question about whether some area should be painted, your best motto is, "if in doubt, leave it out." You can always go back and do the section later.

As the work proceeds, be careful of lap marks . . . the visual buildups that sometimes result when an ending and a beginning section meet. In particular, avoid painting in the sun (which can dry the coat too quickly and cause this problem). If you do find yourself in a sunny spot, feather out the ends of your strokes: that is, draw the paint out to a thin disappearing streak on uncovered wood. This will help prevent the unsightly lap.

Then there's the business of keeping the paint where you want it. Nothing ruins a job like spots on shingles, driveway, mailbox and porch lights. A little effort and a discreet use of dropcloths will keep the surrounding vegetation and other uncoated areas in their original condition. If a spill should occur—and it will—clean up at once. (Moral: Never carry more paint than you care to mop up.)

When you're working on a dormer, you need a dropcloth on the roof plus a few rags to catch any chance drips. Some nails driven into a convenient place to hold the paint container should help to prevent major spills.

A window-trimming brush and a little practice will enable you to keep paint off glass and screening. If a drop does splat on a screen, dip a short, stiff-bristled brush into a small can of oleum, dab the spot and clean up with a cloth.

When in confrontation with flying, stinging creatures (hornets, wasps, etc.), retreat. It's handy to know that such beast are in a better mood—and fly slower—in the morning. If your presence enrages them even at that hour, take along a knotted rag for self-defense. A quick flick will deflect a marauder, knocking it to the ground and dazing it for a few precious minutes.

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