Preparing & painting pebble-dashing

[OhPinchy]

I need to paint the back of my house that was built in 1949. It’s pebbledashed and I don’t believe it was ever painted.

What’s the best way to prepare the surface (quite dirty) for painting? I was planning on power washing and then using a sealer of some sort so the paint doesn’t just soak straight in – what sealer, if any, should I use? I was then planning on wrapping plastic around all drainpipes and taping up under the soffits etc.

I’ll be using plain old magnolia masonary paint – what’s the best way to apply it to this very uneven surface – deep pile roller, hired spray painter (what type?), or something else? Thanks for the help.

 

[Wexfordguy]

I need to paint the back of my house that was built in 1949. It’s pebbledashed and I don’t believe it was ever painted.

What’s the best way to prepare the surface (quite dirty) for painting? I was planning on power washing and then using a sealer of some sort so the paint doesn’t just soak straight in – what sealer, if any, should I use? I was then planning on wrapping plastic around all drainpipes and taping up under the soffits etc.

I’ll be using plain old magnolia masonary paint – what’s the best way to apply it to this very uneven surface – deep pile roller, hired spray painter (what type?), or something else? Thanks for the help.

You could power wash it and then start painting once its dry.You might need multiple layers of paint but there's no point going through the trouble of sealing it.The best way to paint it would be to use an elctric spray gun,the only troubl ebeing that you'd need sacffolding rather than a ladder and it can be incredibly messy and areas need to be masked off.An easier,and slower way is to get a big(8 inch imulsion brush) and make sure you work the paint into the dash.

 

[OhPinchy]

Thanks wexfordguy. I will have scaffolding setup, but I want to make sure I get the right spray gun before going for it - any tips what I should hire?

When I've painted old houses with exposed concrete that was never painted, the paint sank in so I figured some form of sealer would be best for the pebble-dashing, but maybe not.

 

[Dropout]

An Airless sprayer is best, very easy to manage, Make sure you do it on a nice calm day. Dont do it on a breezy day as the spray could carry on the wind.

 

[Carpenter]

Dropout is offering the best advice here: an airless sprayer is the best option. Dashed finishes were (usually) never intended to be finished with paint and are regarded as self finishing- expect to use a lot of paint to achieve a reasonable finish and it will take some time to do this job. You'll need a disposable "boiler suit", a decent mask and eye protection for this job. Mask of with plastic and tape as required. Light ply or hardboard will aid in protecting windows/ doors.

 

[Ceist Beag]

Guys would ye recommend this as a job best left to professionals or is it something the average person could reasonably expect to do well?

 

[dble8]

go to argos or something and buy one of there sprayer units
they work just fine and you still have it to use for later instead of shelling out hire costs

 

[Carpenter]

This is well within the capability of a competent DIYer but they real issue is the cost of hiring an airless sprayer and all that goes with it (measuring paint viscosity, clean up, scaffold and access). Have you got a quote from a professional for the job? This will give you something to work with; if you're only going to save a few hundred it may not be worth the bother, especially as weather conditions at the moment as so bloody awful and could make hiring an airless sprayer expensive if you don't get the calm, dry weather you need. Those cheapie sprayer from Argos are not airless; they're fine for small jobs but you'd be a long time painting the outside of a house with one!