So, I'm deleting that set of questions from there and getting ready to just post one initial question in hopes that will get an answer, then I'll go on from there.
And in the interest of not forgetting what all I'd asked, I'm copying what I'd posted here. And if you happen to know any or all of the answers, I'd love to hear from you!
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Winter solstice is not exactly the right time of year to get hit with an intense desire to start doing the prep work for painting the garage, but I can at least start with the planning!
While the wood on our garage is mostly in good condition (except for near the ground in a few areas), the paint is peeling so badly that it's the main thing I use as a descriptor when giving people directions. I think this summer I'll finally be able to tackle repainting the garage as one of my summer-break projects.
My questions for now are:
- Is there any reason why I shouldn't start scraping on days warm enough to be outside this winter? It already only has maybe 50% paint coverage, and the rest bare grayed wood.
(fyi, I hope to get the scraping finished before it's time to do ANY planting, even of early veggies, since my garden is right next to my garage and while I plan to be as careful as possible with the paint chips, I still don't want to get ANY lead paint chips/dust on my crops - I plan to very solidly secure a tarp over it for the duration of all scraping.) - I know that I can't just prime over weathered wood. What's the best thing to use to treat it before painting? Do I need to wait a certain time between treating and painting? Also, if I need to treat it, does that mean that I have to get it TOTALLY stripped of all paint, down to 100% wood, or if there are places where the paint really doesn't want to come off can I just leave it? And how warm does it have to be (and stay) to treat the wood?
- With so much of the paint really really loose, is there some kind of attachment I can get for my shopvac to just wet it down (to minimize dust), scrape it and vacuum it up at the same time, at least for the first pass with the loosest paint?
- Should we paint it a taupe/brown to coordinate with the current color of the [vinyl siding that the PO's put up on the] house, gray to stay with what appears to be its original color, or base it on the color we finally decide on for some of the house trim? FYI we have an L-shaped lot so it's almost impossible to see the house and the garage at the same time.
Thanks!!
6 comments:
In my "devine wisdom" I would have to say - go for the paint color that would be go with what you intend to paint the main parts of the house in the future. Unless of course, this would be glaringly horrid.
As for the other questions, I honestly have no idea.. lol
Happy (belated) Solstice!
Stan (mistermoonstruck)
Well, as much as I admire the devotion of folks who are willing to take on the task of stripping off vinyl siding AND asbestos siding to get to the original clapboard, all while having no idea whatsoever about the condition of the original clapboard, that simply is not happening here. So until new siding is needed, the house is staying taupe. Standard big-box low-end vinyl taupe. Urgh.
Then go for something complementary to taupe! I am all for complete restoration, but hell, sometime there is just no reason.
-Stan (Again)
I think 20 minutes spent with one of the guys at the Benjamin Moore paint store would get you all the information you need to do the garage job right. That said, here are my thoughts.
The thing that kills wood is moisture. As long as what you are exposing to the elements has a chance to dry thoroughly whenever it gets weather/wet, then go ahead and scrape it clean. Also, I don't see any reason why you can't go ahead and prime bare wood. Primer is designed to penetrate and seal raw/bare wood. Are you planning on painting with latex or alkyd/oil paint? If the latter, you can seal the wood with linseed oil before you prime, if you want to. Otherwise, just prime as you go. When you get a day when the weather is going to stay well above 45 degrees (I think--check the can), you can prime the wood you've already scraped.
Oh, and paint color? I'd paint the color(s) I intend to eventually paint the house. Also, why worry about tackling the entire house at one time? You can do one facade at a time; start with the most prominent and do one each year.
Thanks, Dara!!
Again, sorry for the confusion -- the house is NOT going to be painted. It's taupe vinyl and staying taupe vinyl. The majority of the trim was painted white last year. The only painting left to do is the porch floor, and down the road (not high priority) we plan to add some accent color by way of shutters and probably just a few small spots on the porch to tie the shutter color to the house. We thought at first about painting the garage whatever color we choose as an accent, then realized that it will most likely be a darker, deeper color than would be practical for a larger structure like that, so now we're back to being unsure. We may just go back to the default of painting it a gray to match the original color of the garage -- and perhaps use the same accent color as on the house.
Also, I plan to use an oil primer then a latex paint.
See you next week!!
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