How to? - External mobil home painting.

[Dayton Marcott]

I would like to paint my old mobile home, and I need advice on how to
prepare the surface. There's some mildew, some rust, a lot of fine dirt, and
an old bad paint job with brush strokes clearly visible. How do I prepare
this surface so that the new paint will look good?

I'm thinking of power washing the whole thing first, and wire-brushing the
rust. But how do I prepare the actual surface? Do I sand it? Wouldn't
sanding mar the aluminum siding? Should I sand blast it with a fine grit to
rough up the surface a bit?

I plan on using a spray painter to get a nice smooth finish, but I've got to
fix the current suface first. Any ideas?

- Dayton

[Paul Broussard]

Dayton Marcott wrote:
>
> I would like to paint my old mobile home, and I need advice on how to
> prepare the surface. There's some mildew, some rust, a lot of fine dirt, and
> an old bad paint job with brush strokes clearly visible. How do I prepare
> this surface so that the new paint will look good?

Pressure wash with bleach and TSP, scrub with a medium brush to remove
all loose paint, dirt and chalking. Important to remove all chalking, as
it will hinder adhesion. Paint will adhere to the chalking, not the
previous coating.

> I'm thinking of power washing the whole thing first, and wire-brushing the
> rust. But how do I prepare the actual surface? Do I sand it? Wouldn't
> sanding mar the aluminum siding? Should I sand blast it with a fine grit to
> rough up the surface a bit?

No need for sandblasting. What's important is the substrate be clean,
free of mildew and dull. Remove all rust, use two good coats of quality
metal primer on rust spots.

> I plan on using a spray painter to get a nice smooth finish, but I've got to
> fix the current suface first. Any ideas?

Use a good acrylic paint, it'll stick very well, and buy a shield to use
with your airless when spraying. Sherwin Williams Duration is pricey,
but adheres very well, leaves a very thick coating and is guaranteed as
long as you own your home. Worth it when spraying, as it's a one coat
coating.

--
Broussard Paint Contractors, friend of Bill's
"careful, we might learn from this"- Calvin