Painting exterior woodwork - advice?

[W1TAK]

Im about to embark on a repaint of my facia boards/soffits two storeys up, house is a four bed debatched so a fair bit of hassle, they are wooden and flaking a bit plus have gone a yellowy colour. Does anybody have advice on the best paint to get, ideally I dont want to have to do this job every other year!

I was hoping for a quick rub down/clean and one coat to save me going up and down the ladders loads of times.

Any advice appreciated.

[robinhood21]

To be honest, there is no quick solution to your quandary. There are breathable paints that require just the one coat. But unless this is used from the start (bare wood), is not really suitable.

Afraid it will be hard-graft and lots of ladder work. Wash down, scrape back, rub down and, knot stop and prime. Followed by at least one U/C and one gloss coat.

Or, you could replace with plastic.

[Simpo Two]

If you're planning to stay there a while, I'd get them changed for uPVC.

[T5R+]

robinhood21 said:

Afraid it will be hard-graft and lots of ladder work. Wash down, scrape back, rub down and, knot stop and prime. Followed by at least one U/C and one gloss coat.

Ditto

Topcoat with Dulux Weathershield - it really is the best that I have come across.

You may also want to invest in a ladder hanging basket to keep the bits and pieces in.

[Wings]

robinhood21 said:

To be honest, there is no quick solution to your quandary. There are breathable paints that require just the one coat. But unless this is used from the start (bare wood), is not really suitable.

Afraid it will be hard-graft and lots of ladder work. Wash down, scrape back, rub down and, knot stop and prime. Followed by at least one U/C and one gloss coat.

Or, you could replace with plastic.

Agree, and if facing and gets alot of sun, use an aluminium primer, although if in your position UPVC for me.

[Silver993tt]

When I had a hardwood conservatory built I used water based paint from Teknos. Fantastic product. Every 5 years all I have to do is wash/wipe down with water and repaint one coat and it's back as new again. Saves about 90% of the time compared to the old oil/cheap paints where you have to rub down etc.

The Teknos paint never flakes, it slowly weathers so retains uniform cover and colour.

[Autonotiv]

Wings said:

robinhood21 said:

To be honest, there is no quick solution to your quandary. There are breathable paints that require just the one coat. But unless this is used from the start (bare wood), is not really suitable.

Afraid it will be hard-graft and lots of ladder work. Wash down, scrape back, rub down and, knot stop and prime. Followed by at least one U/C and one gloss coat.

Or, you could replace with plastic.

Agree, and if facing and gets alot of sun, use an aluminium primer, although if in your position UPVC for me.

Yea but plastic looks ste.

[robinhood21]

Autonotiv said:

Yea but plastic looks ste.

...and creeks when the sun comes out/goes in.

[Simpo Two]

Autonotiv said:

Yea but plastic looks ste.

White can, but woodgrain works for me.

[W1TAK]

Thanks for all the info, really helps, Im going to check out that paint, Im not keen on UPVC even though my windows have been replaced. Just ordered a ladder stand off too !

[KevF]

W1TAK,

Well, just done mine...I took 2 weeks off work to do it properly and ran out of time so dont under estimate it.
Main problem I had was the guy I had paid previously only gave the barge boards and cappings and upstairs windows and frames a light sanding (or none at all) prior to giving it a coat of white.
Now, as you have, the paint had peeled and lifted and looked ste.

So, I bought Dulux Weathershield Stage one Preservative Primer for the top cappings that gets the worst of the weather. Then two coats of Weathershield undercoat (oil based) and topped with two coats of Weathershield Exterior Gloss.
Materials cost around £200 but I did buy new decent brushes, plastic sheeting and loads of sandpaper.

I found loads of rotting wood once I started rubbing the surfaces down properly and in some instances, the paint just peeled off in sections to reveal damp wood. So the time I had planned was spent having a carpenter let in new wood or replace sections completely.
I decided to go with a scissor lift hire rather than scaffolding so that I could move it around and store it away from the house when not in use.The highest point of the capping was around 25 foot high so not something Id want to do from a ladder.

At least now I kow its all good wood and painted properly and should last around 4-5 years before needing a top coat again.

UPVC was not an option as I live in a cottage and personally I dont like the look of UPVC.

Good luck, as painting a whole house on your own can be a soul destroying/ boring job if it starts to go Pete Tong.