Painting - painting exterior brick
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jeastith
06-01-08, 07:51 AM
i live in a Philadelphia brick row home and the front of my house is brick. The brick is all scratched up - there are places where people have actually put their names into the brick. My neighborhood used to be scary, but now it is a beautiful place to live. Anyway, it looks absolutely terrible. A guy down the street from me painted his brick, and it looks great. What would be the preparation necessary for this kind of job? Are there any other options for crappy looking brick? I mean, the brick itself isn't crumbling or anything, its just been vandalized and scratched up a lot.
marksr
06-01-08, 11:08 AM
They main prep for paint is making sure the brick is clean. Primer can be as low tech as latex house paint thinned 10% with water followed by a full coat of latex house paint..... or SWP has come out with a line of masonary paints and primers called Loxon. Other paint manufactures may have similiar lines.
Paint can be nice inexpensive way to dress up or change the look of brick but for the most part it is irreversible!
Paint can be nice inexpensive way to dress up or change the look of brick but for the most part it is irreversible!
jeastith
06-01-08, 02:40 PM
So, just to clarify, do I actually have to CLEAN the brick and then prime it, or can I just prime it and then paint with masonry paint? i realize it isn't reversible, and that is OK. The scratches are really bad, and paint will look a hundred times better than my brick ever will. Thanks!
Speedwrench
06-01-08, 10:11 PM
pressure wash the brick first. then do the primer and paint.
life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies
life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies
marksr
06-02-08, 05:53 AM
Yes, paint/primer will adhere better to a clean surface! Most masonary paints are a lower grade than house paint. I've found that a quality latex house paint will last longer on masonary than the cheaper masonary paint will.
sirwired
06-02-08, 07:59 AM
When you pressure-wash, I would make sure to use cleaning solvent to help scrub it. You do NOT want to try and get your really expensive coatings to stick to grime.
Then, I would mosey on down to your local Sherwin Williams, tell them what you have, what you are trying to accomplish, and they should be able to direct you to the appropriate primer, whether it be a standard exterior primer, or one of the specialty primers (the Loxon line) intended for masonry.
SirWired
Then, I would mosey on down to your local Sherwin Williams, tell them what you have, what you are trying to accomplish, and they should be able to direct you to the appropriate primer, whether it be a standard exterior primer, or one of the specialty primers (the Loxon line) intended for masonry.
SirWired