So, the project I've got going here is for my home. But after I'm done, I might just turn pro, LOL. Just joking.....although I enjoy it so far. My trade is in landscaping and nursery work and I can't landscape my property until the exterior is done......so first things first. This is what I've got.......
LOCATION: Central Michigan. High temps reaching into the 90's+ with likewise high humidity. And freezing, dry, winters often in the teens with lots of ice and snow. Wet cool springs and autumn.
THE PROJECT: a modest 2000 sq.ft Victorian house and it's little sister (860 sq.ft.) just behind it.
MATERIALS: 3.5" wide, 3/8" at thickest point cedar clapboard siding with 3" or less reveal. Some pine columns & details.
CONDITION: Varied. Thick onion-like layers of paint, cracked to bare wood all over. Mostly still adhered well, but the fine alligator cracking looks awefull. A couple coats of latex (I assume cheap primer) slapped on top that has no adhesion and is peeling like rubbery string cheese. Areas of peeling to bare wood where there has been water and vapor issues. No vapor barrier or insulation in walls. Original plaster throughout house, with the exception of the bathrooms.
PREP WORK: Trees encroaching on siding have all been removed. Bathrooms remodeled to fix moisture exchange issues.
THE MADNESS OF MY METHOD: I am approaching the job in sections. Start to finish on each side in it's turn. I have a 50+ hour a week job (who doesn't) and this project is every other waking moment of my life right now. So if autumn hits and I'm not done, it will be with just one side and not the whole darn place. I have chosen to burn-off and scrape. Couldn't afford the shaver or the infa-red....those cut into the paint budget to much. This delights all my neighbors and passers by, that laugh at me openly as my other half and I work board by board, armed with scrapers and heat guns. They chuckle as they ask again and again "Are you're really gonna heat scrape the whole house that way?". Then they offer the number of some guy that is gonna do their house (that is larger than mine) for less than $2000. Or I get endless suggestions of how a power sprayer is a lot faster. I have not heard good things about using power sprayers on historic homes and have decided it is not the way I'm going. You get what you pay for is not just a cheesey catch phrase to me. And I've seen what a $2k job gets a person around here. You end up with a house that looks like it has a skin disease because the edges of remaining paint aren't feathered out, defects aren't filled and no serious prep or finish detail work is done carefully. Subsequently the homeowners are back to square 1 with badly peeling paint in 3 years or less. I wish I could afford someone truely skilled and committed to a high quality job. But I can't afford to pay for their time even though I know it's worth every penny.
After scraping to bare wood I plan to fill defects with an epoxy, sand all the siding down smooth, replace any areas that are still "grey wood", treat with dilluted bleach solution, rinse, apply paintable water-repellent preservative, oil primer and latex paint (hand brush).
Just a note: I WILL GIVE MY LEFT LEG FOR A CARBIDE BURN-OFF SCRAPER
THE BIG QUESTION:
What paint brands to avoid?
What paint brands have tested consistently as the best (for my climate)?
bearing in mind that I want the best not the latest fad and cheapest solution. I want a paint that will endure. I will mail order from another country if it means getting the best possible.
Thank You for your time in reading and answering!
LOCATION: Central Michigan. High temps reaching into the 90's+ with likewise high humidity. And freezing, dry, winters often in the teens with lots of ice and snow. Wet cool springs and autumn.
THE PROJECT: a modest 2000 sq.ft Victorian house and it's little sister (860 sq.ft.) just behind it.
MATERIALS: 3.5" wide, 3/8" at thickest point cedar clapboard siding with 3" or less reveal. Some pine columns & details.
CONDITION: Varied. Thick onion-like layers of paint, cracked to bare wood all over. Mostly still adhered well, but the fine alligator cracking looks awefull. A couple coats of latex (I assume cheap primer) slapped on top that has no adhesion and is peeling like rubbery string cheese. Areas of peeling to bare wood where there has been water and vapor issues. No vapor barrier or insulation in walls. Original plaster throughout house, with the exception of the bathrooms.
PREP WORK: Trees encroaching on siding have all been removed. Bathrooms remodeled to fix moisture exchange issues.
THE MADNESS OF MY METHOD: I am approaching the job in sections. Start to finish on each side in it's turn. I have a 50+ hour a week job (who doesn't) and this project is every other waking moment of my life right now. So if autumn hits and I'm not done, it will be with just one side and not the whole darn place. I have chosen to burn-off and scrape. Couldn't afford the shaver or the infa-red....those cut into the paint budget to much. This delights all my neighbors and passers by, that laugh at me openly as my other half and I work board by board, armed with scrapers and heat guns. They chuckle as they ask again and again "Are you're really gonna heat scrape the whole house that way?". Then they offer the number of some guy that is gonna do their house (that is larger than mine) for less than $2000. Or I get endless suggestions of how a power sprayer is a lot faster. I have not heard good things about using power sprayers on historic homes and have decided it is not the way I'm going. You get what you pay for is not just a cheesey catch phrase to me. And I've seen what a $2k job gets a person around here. You end up with a house that looks like it has a skin disease because the edges of remaining paint aren't feathered out, defects aren't filled and no serious prep or finish detail work is done carefully. Subsequently the homeowners are back to square 1 with badly peeling paint in 3 years or less. I wish I could afford someone truely skilled and committed to a high quality job. But I can't afford to pay for their time even though I know it's worth every penny.
After scraping to bare wood I plan to fill defects with an epoxy, sand all the siding down smooth, replace any areas that are still "grey wood", treat with dilluted bleach solution, rinse, apply paintable water-repellent preservative, oil primer and latex paint (hand brush).
Just a note: I WILL GIVE MY LEFT LEG FOR A CARBIDE BURN-OFF SCRAPER
THE BIG QUESTION:
What paint brands to avoid?
What paint brands have tested consistently as the best (for my climate)?
bearing in mind that I want the best not the latest fad and cheapest solution. I want a paint that will endure. I will mail order from another country if it means getting the best possible.
Thank You for your time in reading and answering!