Three Preparation Steps Before Painters Can Refresh Outdoor Shutters
Posted on: 23 October 2019
Plantation shutters add a touch of elegance to any house window, but without annual maintenance, they can look dirty and shabby. If you are a homeowner who is enjoying the warmer weather while getting spring chores done, this is an ideal time to hire a painting contractor to come out and repaint your house shutters. There are three preparation tips which you can do before the painters arrive to make this task quicker and more effective, so follow these preparation steps to ensure your painters have the best shutter surface to work with.
Time To Clean
It is amazing what your outdoor shutters get exposed to over a year. During the winter, little rain falls but there is plenty of wind blowing dust and debris around, and these tiny dirt particles build up on the shutters and their frame. Then, when summer arrives and brings with it humidity, mould and mildew spores sitting on the dust grow thanks to the moisture in the air. Fungus damages the wood shutters because it eats into the wood pulp, and dirty shutters lack the shiny curbside appeal you want to show off to travellers on the street. So your first preparation task is to clean the shutters. This is easily done with a bucket of warm water, a soft sponge and some sugar soap or dishwashing liquid. Sugar soap or dishwashing liquid helps to cut through grease and dirt buildup as you hand-wash each shutter carefully. A soft sponge is needed because you don't want to scratch the wood while washing is. Hose the shutter with cold water after washing to ensure no product buildup remains.
Scrape Flaky Paint
Once the shutters are washed clean, you can quickly spot any damage which needs to be repaired before they can be painted. A common type of shutter damage is flaky paint. Paint often flakes because it was painted onto a dirty surface or because too many layers of paint were applied over the years. The fastest way to get rid of flaky paint is to sandpaper or scrape it off. You can purchase the tools to do this from your local hardware store. If you are not confident you can remove the flaking paint without damaging the shutter, then ask your paint contractor to do this preparation step for you.
Repair Damaged Wood
The other type of damage you may find after cleaning the shutters is wood rot. This happens when moisture gets under the paint and rots the wood. Small amounts of wood rot can be repaired using wood putty. The damaged wood pulp is removed and then the wood is rebuilt to its original shape using wood putty. A painting contractor or a home handyman can take care of this task for you.
Once these preparation steps are done, your painter can take care of painting the shutters for you. All you need to do is decide on which colour.
Share