Painting Lesson 101

Painting Tip 101

Painting Tip 101

Cal Phillips here again, owner of Eco Paint, Inc. w/35+ years experience, I want to once in for all, put in written form which product to use covering voids of substrates.

Way too many times I've seen improper use of both Spackle and caulk, and will examine both, for the first painting tip.

A. Spackel-ing, Spackle, is a lightweight compound, in a tub/bucket container, which dries quickly, to a flat finish, either used interior or exterior.

B. Caulk is typically a latex based, silicone embodied caulk in a tube container, which dries within several hours, to a dry paint-able, gloss finish.

Caulking guns can easily dispense large quantities of compound at a quick speed, which makes this way too easy to fill voids that should be filled with Spackle, which takes much more time for a smooth, uniform finish.

Main point is that Caulk should be administered in cracks where two substrates come together at usually a 90 degree angle. Caulk should not be used in nail holes on an exterior or interior wall. Weathered exterior siding, nails will appear to be sunken in, as to the nail-gun had too much air pressure, which is certainly not the case. What is going on is exterior paint has broken down, moisture getting into nail shafts, swelling Masonite siding like a sponge. Nails to not move, as the siding has been seen to swell twice it's thickness. Although the siding is in dire need of replacement at some point in the near future, caulking should never be used filling nail heads. What happens if caulk is used, and 15-25 years later when exterior paint that once had a satin finish, now has a flat sheen, areas that were caulked will still be shiny and polka-dotted, shiny spots on a flat wall. This is true even on interior wall surfaces, Spackle should be used in a open surface area, and not caulk.

Knowing many painting contractors do a great job in the Denver area, with all the new contractors picking up a brush, this is one thing that should not be done at any circumstance, making the surface worse in the long run far more than leaving as is. Both products seal nail holes, but one is made for this, and the other is not.

Good Luck,

Cal Phillips/owner
Eco Paint, Inc.
303.591.4978

Siding Repair and Replacements

This topic deals with the deterioration and major causes to exterior siding which has been seen countless times throughout Colorado. What appears to be nails sunk further into wood siding, maybe because nailgun pressures were set too high, is not the case at all. Also appears siding has "Thickened" towards the bottom of each board, or another word to describe, is swelled out.

First, if left unanswered, you will be finding yourself replacing entire siding, when a little bit of precaution could have prevented. What is going on here is the exterior needed to be painted a few years after it was built. New home contractors only require a "Fog coat" paint job, that will typically last 3 years max. After that, the exterior surfaces are running on borrowed time.
After the "Fog coat" has broken down, the nail heads are left exposed. Rain and snow finds it's way around the nail shafts (least resistance) into the inner pressed wood man-made siding, typically Masonite™. Masonite is a great material when protected, but not worth it's weight if not cared for. Moisture seeps into shafts, causing the siding to swell. Nails that hold siding in place do not move, siding does! Siding is continually swelling, nails appear to sink deeper and deeper, but siding is swelling outwards.

There is a way to stop this, and I've seen many homes who had an attempt to repair, used the wrong material all together. Yes, the moisture was stopped, but guess what? As the paint aged, what was left was a POKE A DOTTED house. Using a latex caulk filling in nail holes is the worst thing you can do even if you plan on staying or moving. Someone is eventually see these small dots, as caulking does not break down to a flat finish as paint does. This can be seen standing to the side, looking down the exterior on an aged paint job.

What we use, that protects from moisture, and becomes the same sheen over time is Exterior Spackling. It goes on and dries to a flat finish. This is important, because when a Semi-gloss or Satin finish (most widely used) becomes aged, it flatens out, and spackling will not flash out, being all the same sheen. Satin finishes cover caulking nicely at first, matching with caulking sheen, but over the years, the two are entirely different.

We hope you call us here at Eco Paint Specialist's, but if you don't, insist on Exterior Spackling filling in those unsightly nail-head holes, because eventually you'll wished you had.
Cal Phillips/Eco Paint Specialist's/303.591.4978 http://www.ecopaintspecialists.com/ or~ Painting Denver

Exterior Painting Denver Metro Area

Bring your house back to life with a new fresh exterior paint job, protecting your home from the harsh elements and climates Colorado has from time to time. Waiting or putting off can result in more costly repairs not originally seen. Eco Paint Specialists takes pride in helping our local community protecting exterior surfaces of many's largest investments, the home.
Giving you a compete schedule for your exterior painting project, with estimated time of completion, and estimated number of workers we plan putting on the job.
Not cutting any corners, we power wash first, leaving to dry for 24-48 hours. Then upon second arrival we get to work. Scraping, Caulking, and Priming, we insure our paint job will last for many years to come. Providing a 3 year Workmanship warranty, and paint typically has it's warranty 15-20 years. After our prep. is completed, we spray the body 2 coats, and brush and roll the trim 2, putting on 13 mills wet. This is the most paint that can be applied before it will sag, run, or drip.
Each day, we police the grounds, picking up debris, cleaning up before we leave, doing the same at the end. Call us today for your free estimate. Cal Phillips 303.591.4978 or see us at http://www.ecopaintspecialists.com/ / http://www.paintingexterior.net / http://www.paintinginterior.net/ http://www.paintingdenver.net