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Home Exterior Maintenance 

COMMON EXTERIOR PAINT PROBLEMS HAVE SOLUTIONS

Paint can appear blistered when small to medium sized bubbles appear under the paint film.  This is most common on wood siding and trim.  Blistering can be caused by house moisture escaping through the walls due to poor house ventilation.  It can be caused by painting when the wood is damp.   When paint blisters, it can be repaired by scraping down to the base wood and letting it dry completely.  Use high quality latex paint.

Mildew is a fungus feeding and growing on the paint film or caulk and is identifiable by it's Paint that has gray, brown, green or dark black "splotchy" spots mean mildew problems.  Mildew can be cause by moisture and poor ventilation and lack of direct sunlight.  Undersides of soffits and eaves to particularly prone to mildew.  Just painting over the mildew doesn’t solve the problem.  Use a paint that has a good mildewcide and prime the wood properly.   Mildew can be scrubbed off with a bleach solution of one part bleach to three parts water.  Be sure to wear eye protection and rubber gloves when using  bleach.  Use a good quality latex paint to avoid mildew

When wood has rust colored reddish-brown to black stains on the paint surface, you may have rust damage.  Rust damage can occur when non-corrosion resistant nails were used instead of stainless steel nails.  Nails that come into contact with air, pop from the surface, or have been excessively weathered can cause rust damage.  Tannic acid from moist wood can cause steel nails to create a black stain.  If possible, replace steel nails with galvanized or stainless steel nails.  If that isn’t possible, remove the rust by sanding the nail heads to bare metal and countersink them.  Use a high quality paint to avoid more rusting.

Peeling paint is a very common paint problem that can be caused either by moisture or poor adhesion. Peeling due to moisture is recognizable by large peeling sections of paint exposing bare wood underneath. Unlike peeling due to adhesion problems where peeling may be spotty, with moisture related peeling larger areas peel away often around windows, doors and gutters.

Potential Causes:

·         Moisture getting behind paint film from failing or missing caulk, leaks in roof or wall systems or being too close to the ground.

·         Faulty guttering or missing ventilation causing ice dams or water back up.

·         Painting when the surface being painted is wet from condensation or rain.

Possible Repairs:

·         Ensure proper drainage of gutters and downspouts flowing away from home.

·         Eliminate cause or source of moisture by installing exhaust fans, soffit vents, siding vents, louvers, fans, and dehumidifiers.

·         Repair and replace missing or damaged caulk.

·         Scrape away old peeling paint and feather sand affected areas.

·         Spot prime bare area.

·         Caulk as required with appropriate caulk.

·         Repaint with a high quality acrylic latex house paint.