I’ve been up since 4AM, welcoming December by priming and painting exterior doors plus lintels before the day gets busy. I know its a little cold out in December but here are some tips on painting exteriors in cooler weather:

First, let me say that best finish is a sprayed one. When it’s cold outside, even the best professional sprayer will clog up because the paint will dry too fast or it may clump and ruin your finish. So what do you do?

1.  Plan to brush or roll on your primer and paint. There are additives you can use to reduce the brush strokes and the rolling pattern left behind by the nap on your rolling wand. Make sure to mix it well and stir often. Plan on recoating with primer more often than once or twice, depending on how much coverage you need. And don’t forget to keep a wet border to avoid streaks.

2. Exterior surfaces require exterior products to survive the elements so make sure you use exterior primer and paint, not indoor ones. I’ve seen people do this and wonder why they have to re-paint often. If you’re going to paint exterior surfaces like soffits, a decorative wood fence or a door, use exterior products to make it worth your while.

3. Be patient and let it dry between coats. I can’t tell you how impatience can ruin a beautiful finish and waste your time. Do the same with your exterior paint coating.

4. One thing I didn’t mention was to prep your surfaces and protect surrounding areas. Tape, mask, use drop-cloths to avoid damaging surrounding surfaces while you paint. Splatters happen to everyone and so does mist if you spray, even to professionals. It’s why you see plastic draping from the ceiling or plastic wrapped around certain areas and light fixtures. If the pros cover these things, you should too.

I’m not done yet since I’ve only primed the door, the door jamb, the block moulding, and the lintel over the windows. This is going to take the entire weekend due to multiple coats and dry-time. I have a team of contractors I could call but I chose to do this myself since I enjoy the occasional DIY project, even though I still have three more doors and 30 windows with lintels over them to prime and paint. Do you have any #WeekendProjects you’re working on? If so, let me know. I’d love to hear all about them!

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