How To Clean Exterior Wood Trim Before Painting

Starting from top working down this is one of many important steps painting exteriors.

How to clean exterior wood trim before painting. There are few steps to follow to ready the wood for painting once you are done with sanding. Using a garden hose rinse off the trim and let it dry for at least two days before beginning to paint. Before painting wood siding fill large holes and gouges with a two-part resin filler such as Minwax High Performance Wood Filler.

When you clean exterior walls before painting youll ensure a clean canvas just like walls before painting a fine piece of art or home. Rinse thoroughly with a vinegarwater solution and let the trim dry. In order to get a smooth paint finish you have to make sure that you remove the oils dirt and grease that has become lodged on the surface of the door.

Rinse the trim thoroughly and allow it to dry completely before preparing the surface for primer and paint. Try working from left to right to ensure that you clean off the entire painted surface. Move the rag in small circular motions as you remove any obvious dust from the surface.

For an effective exterior cleanser mix a cup of bleach a cup of trisodium phosphate and a gallon of water and spray it over your trim. The water pressure in a power washer is typically somewhere between 2200 and 3500 psi which is a far cry from the amount of water pressure in your garden hose. If you start at the top the cleaner can run down the wood and create hard-to-remove streaks.

The exterior door is exposed to environmental elements throughout the year and becomes quite dirty over time. Key tip is allowing exterior to properly dry 24 - 48 hours before any hand scraping begins. Not trapping any foreign material under fresh paint.

Power wash the exterior to remove sanding dust paint flakes dirt and mildew. There are several ways to accomplish this. Move on to the next section below that one.