With warmer weather on the horizon, you and your family will soon want to spend some time in the great outdoors. Cold temperatures can compromise your garden and outdoor living spaces with its brutal temperature fluctuation. You can easily breath new life to your favorite outside spot by throwing a new coat of paint onto your existing deck. New paint can make your space feel fresh, clean, and new again. Paint doesn’t take much effort and it’s quite cost effective when you start crunch the numbers and comparing it to a total backyard renovation. All you need is a free weekend, a few buck for a couple of buckets of paint, and the know-how to get the job done right. We want to share a few deck painting tips that will have your deck fresh, clean, and feeling like new just in time for warmer weather.
Prep Your Deck for Painting
The secret of a perfect project is all in the preparation of your deck. If this project isn’t started right, you might just be doomed to failure or at least sentenced to a second weekend cleaning up a big mess. One of the best deck painting tips we can offer you is to emphasize the importance of proper prep time and work to get your project started down the right path.
Clean Sweep – Your first step in deck painting prep work is to simply sweep, or better yet, pressure wash your deck to break up and get rid of dirt, grime, and loose particles. A good power wash could really help do the dirty work of degreasing your deck’s surface. However, you will want to your deck completely dry before you paint so pressure washing might need to take place a day or two beforehand.
Fix the Nails – Every year nails can work themselves out of their place. It’s important to replace them with the next larger size of nail so they don’t rework themselves out again. You wouldn’t want to stub your bare toe on one of those nasty nails so take the time to look for those pesky little suckers now.
Fill any Holes – Another important deck painting tip is to fill any holes worn in your existing deck’s surface. Rainwater can easily seep its way into holes left open to the elements and create damage. If you add a little wood putty, you can easily ward off early wood rot.
Caulk the Joints – For the same reason, it’s important to press in a bead of high-quality polyurethane caulk into all your deck’s joints. This will help hide the seams and also keep water out of the innards of your deck.
Sand down the Handrails – This deck painting tip is merely optional, but if you’ve got little hands grabbing and sliding along your deck’s handrail system, give those rails a quick touch up with sandpaper. You’ll save some little tears from catching nasty splinters that time, the weather, and rain can fester along your handrails.
Protect Unpainted Surfaces – It’s a tedious deck painting tip, but taping off the surfaces that should not get painted is an easy way to keep your paint job looking fresh and crisp. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so spend some time protecting the surfaces that you want to remain with a little painter’s tape.
Consider Priming First – If you’ve had to caulk and putty imperfections around your deck, priming your deck with a good outdoor wood deck sealing primer is a good choice. It will help you create a blank canvas, of sorts, and allow your paint color to shine brighter.
Choose the Correct Type of Paint – Our most important deck painting tip includes a break down of the types of paints available on the market. There are so many options out there, it would be easy for any DIY’er to get lost. The pros at your local home improvement store suggest using oil-based or latex acrylic paint for your deck. Your oil-based paint can stand up better to whatever Mother Nature throws at you at any time of year.
Set the Tone with Style – Yes! More Deck Painting Tips
Now, one of our more fun deck painting tips adds some style to your plans. While you add new life to your deck with a new coat of paint, you can also use paint to add a new style to your garden space as well. The sky and your creativity are the limit to really extending your living space to the outdoors.
Splash of Color – Don’t be afraid to go bold with your choice of color palette. While you almost marry your indoor carpet color, the tones you use on your outdoor deck can be easily and inexpensively changed so go wild with a splash of color! If you can’t decide on which color, a great deck painting tip is to try your top two or three picks. You can use the contrasting colors to anchor different spaces on your deck to informally draw a line in the sand to separate spaces.
Alternate Colors – Bringing in several colors, whether they’re bold or neutral, can bring a lot of warmth and interest to your outdoor spaces. It also makes your outdoor areas versatile and inviting. Using one another deck painting tip, you could try adding a bold color on your deck’s surface while using a lighter accent color on your handrails.
Play with Patterns – If you’re really feeling adventurous, try playing around with painted patterns on your deck. You can bring any feeling or style you want to your space. Remember, painting with multiple colors will mean a longer process, but the results are so worth the effort and the wait. A few deck painting tips include alternating paint colors between slats along your porch or deck, painting square or diamond patterns using multiple colors, painting an area rug in the center of your patio living area, or even white-washing over a bolder color to give your space a rustic feel.
A fresh coat of paint in your outdoor area will indeed breathe new life into your garden living and entertaining space. If you follow these simple deck painting tips, you’re sure to have a fresh new area ready for guests when the weather is right.
Featured image by Liz
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