If you are a homeowner whose house has vinyl shutters, then you may have noticed that they have fallen into disrepair. Following years of battling the fury of nature’s elements, they now appear old and well faded. What they really want is a make over to return their original shiny and new appearance. Although you might engage the professional services of a painter to restore that glorious like new appearance, really the job is not so difficult as you might at first believe. In this article, we will show reader how they are capable of doing this vinyl shutter painting project all by themselves.
Contents
Items Necessary for the Project
– Sawhorses
– Breathing mask
– Gloves
– Safety Goggles
– Scrub brush
– Sponge
– Soap
-Styrofoam Cup
– Screwdriver
– Spray Can of Paint
Safety and Work Space Considerations
You will not want to neglect safety in this project. Sufficient ventilation in the area where you will do the spray painting of the vinyl shutters is essential. You ought to wear a number of safety items, including protective safety goggles, gloves, and a breathing mask. It would be very dangerous if you inhaled any significant quantity of poisonous fumes or paint spray. Ensure that the work station is free of objects and that all area fixtures are either covered up or taken away so that stray spray paint will not affect them. The other consideration in a work station is finding a location out of the sun which will help speed the paint’s final curing process.
Preparation Work
When you are ready to pick out your paint, be certain to get one that is adequate for outdoor uses, so that your vinyl shutters will be properly protected from the elements. Particular paints designed and made precisely for plastic as well as vinyl surfaces would work out ideally for these needs. Your area home improvement center or paint store outlet will have a number of different color and styles from which to choose. Alternatively, you could research and shop them over the Internet. One helpful suggestion is to pick out a color which is slightly darker than the outside walls of the house in order to develop a pleasing color palette.
After you have your paints selected, you will be ready to take off your vinyl shutters. You must never attempt to paint these shutters while they are still affixed to the house! They are easily taken off in unscrewing them from their fixtures in the walls. Make certain that you are cautious, and do not injure the shutters while you are taking them off. You will put the two shutters on two sawhorses before you wield any paint. Remember to locate all of the hardware pieces for reattaching the shutters somewhere that you can quickly find them afterwards.
Again, before you begin to paint, you need to clean the shutters well. Wash them all utilizing a gentle soap and a soft sponge. For any hard to remove dirt areas, utilize a stiff bristled brush. Do not forget to effectively rinse the vinyl shutters, and to give them plenty of time to dry, once you are finished with this task.
Painting the Shutters
With your spray paint that you picked out in hand, lay down paint in layers employing sweeping, consistent movements to make sure that you get an even consistency. Never stand the shutter up to apply paint, or the shutters will have paint drippings on the bottoms. Instead, lay them down flat on the sawhorses, so that you are able to spray paint them effectively in a sweeping side to side movement. After you have finished the work, you must ensure that the shutters have sufficient drying times allotted. Even though a casual glance may lead you to believe that the paint has already dried and fast, it may need a few full days for it to properly cure fully. You might bring the shutters inside somewhere or simply leave them sitting in the shade. The paint that you just put on will last a good deal longer if you give the shutters a few good days for the paint to well cure. After these shutters have at last fully cured, use caution in putting them back on, so as not to damage the new paint job.
For more information on properly painting vinyl shutters, simply click on the following link at: eHow.
