ALL THE DETAILS ON PAINTING OUR EXTERIOR – THE TOOLS WE USED + TIPS FOR A LONG LASTING FINISH

I can’t believe it! After 3 paint color attempts and SO much money waisted (I don’t even want to think about that) we finally painted our house AND fell in love with the final color! THANK GOODNESS! I honestly wasn’t sure if we’d weave our way through that paint color madness, but the third time’s the charm and I’m pleased to report that we will not be looking at more paint swatches for a while!!

We’re working on finishing up a few small projects (painting the garage doors for example) and afterwards I can take reveal photos to share with you next week!!! But I promised you guys a sneak peek so a teaser pic you shall receive! 🙂

We landed on the color “Subterranean” from HGTV by Sherwin Williams and it’s the perfect deep green! (NOTE: the paint color name has since changed to “Muddled Basil” by Sherwin Williams) I initially fell in love with the color when it was in the shade for its rich green undertones. But after painting I fell in love with the color in the sunlight too which was something I was very nervous about.

Another thing I was nervous about with a green exterior is how it works with landscaping, grass, and trees. I didn’t want the house to disappear into the greenery around it yet I knew that picking a different green could cause problems with the house clashing or competing with the grass and plants. Thankfully our green paint is deep enough that it still contrasts beautifully with green plants which makes me all the more excited to landscape in the spring!

While choosing the house color was a bit of an “experience”, painting the house was actually quite simple (and fast!) No way we would’ve repainted so many times if it wasn’t so easy! We purchased a few tools that made the process much easier and we learned a few tips that will give us a long lasting finish.

PREP

We opted to spray paint which requires more prep but painting goes SO much faster. To prep, we taped and tarped all the windows and doors. We didn’t bother covering the ground or grass since our landscaping isn’t done.

PRIME

After prep was done we primed. Our siding comes primed so thankfully we didn’t need to prime the whole house. But everything metal or bare wood needed a coat of primer. This included our aluminum gutters and downspouts (we pulled off the downspouts for easier painting), Our Z-flashing (the metal channel we installed above every horizontal board), and any edges of the siding that were cut and exposed.

We used a bonding primer which is necessary to help with adhesion and longevity of the paint on metal surfaces. Many people recommended the Kilz Bonding Primer but we couldn’t find it at any local store so we ended up purchasing Zinsser Bondz Primer instead which worked really well!

PAINT

I’m a firm believer in spending the money on good quality paint. I’ve been really impressed with Lowe’s interior and exterior paint on previous projects so we opted to get their Everlast exterior paint for our siding, gutters, downspouts, and everything in between! We also chose a satin finish for the durability and ease of cleaning it provides. The Everlast paint claims to be one coat coverage and I’m always skeptical of those claims but it genuinely covered in just one coat with our sprayer. Even when we painted white over black, it covered perfectly with just one coat.

TOOLS WE USED

And now for the real hero of this painting debacle – our paint sprayer! We purchased the Graco Magnum X5 paint sprayer and it was worth every penny plus more! We painted our entire house in 3 hours! (As opposed to the hour it took me to paint a 6 foot section with a brush and roller.) It sprays a wide section allowing us to move quickly and the finish is incredibly smooth! Set up and clean up takes a bit of time, but it’s worth it for the time it saves in the long run. (PS if you buy the sprayer, I’d recommend buying a pole extension too. We purchased the 30” pole to help reach tall areas of our home and are so glad we did!)

One thing that we learned is necessary is to backroll after you spray paint. This penetrates the paint into the crevices of the wall creating a better overall finish and it eliminates any paint drips. So while Chris sprayed, I followed behind with my roller.

If you’re prepping for an exterior paint project, these were the tools and materials we used to get the job done quickly.

1. Graco Magnum X5 Sprayer

2. Graco Spray Tip Extension

3. Paint Shield

4. Lowe’s Everlast Exterior Paint

5. Kilz Adhesion Primer

6. Paint Respirator

7. 2” Angle Brush

8. Paint Roller

9. 1/2” Nap Rollers

10. Paint Mixer

11. Pre-taped Tarps

12. Paper Roll

The full reveal is coming soon I promise! But until then, you can get a behind the scenes look at our exterior renovation as it happens on my Instagram account @nadine_stay.