Project details
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Q: I have cedar front-porch railings that I built years ago. The paint is gone in many areas or is peeling away. What is the best way to prep weathered cedar and repaint it white?
—BRAD STUBBS, LEE’S SUMMIT, MO
This Old House画家毛罗·亨里克(Mauro Henrique)说:雪松抵制了腐烂和昆虫的伤害,因此值得您的栏杆恢复原状。油漆是您的栏杆的好选择;与其他外部涂料相比,它可以承受阳光和天气暴露。
Watch as Mauro paints an outdoor railing to match the original railing around a homeowner’s deck.
Steps for Painting Exterior Railings
- Use painter’s tape to protect the deck and the older railing.
- Put a dropcloth down to catch any debris, primer, or paint.
- Use 180-grit sandpaper to sand down any imperfections in the wood. Mauro used a sanding block for the balusters and a random orbital sander for the posts and railings to get the job done quicker on the larger areas.
一个。Wear a mask and gloves to protect yourself from splinters. - Vacuum all the debris.
- Start priming. Use a mini roller for the larger areas and a paintbrush for the areas that are harder to get to.
- Focus on the bottom wood, that’s where most of the water will end up.
- Let the primer dry before painting, wait about an hour.
- Fill in any nail holes with exterior-grade wood filler.
- Paint.
- Let the first coat dry and add the second coat.
Pro Tip:While Mauro usually relies on his brush skills to keep paint off adjoining surfaces, he always masks off around post bases with painter’s tape to create a clean line.
Resources
Mauro wanted to match the paint color of the existing deck, which he did by bringing a small sample of the existing paint to a local paint store. Most paint stores and home centers have machines that can scan a sample and generate a close color match to the paint.
The paint Mauro used for the railings wasBehr Premium Plus Exterior Semi-Gloss paint and primer, though he also used a separate, oil-based primer for the base coat.
Shopping list
- Painter’s tape (exterior grade)
- Dropcloth
- 180-grit sandpaper
- Gloves
- N95口罩
- Vacuum
- Oil-based primer
- Exterior wood filler