All those years of dreaming about building porches onto our home never took into account all of the work it would take for us to make those happen. Once the lumber was delivered and the building started, then I had to face the fact that the work was just beginning. There was a lot of painting to do, which seemed a little overwhelming to start. But, it was actually much easier than I thought – it took less time than the actual building (much to my surprise.)
Before we go any farther, I have to confess that the silly suit the mister is wearing above was totally unnecessary. Since we were painting rafters and overhead bits, we really thought the overspray would be killer, but it wasn’t. About five minutes in, the suit came off and that was that. (Wasn’t he a good sport for posing, though?)
Overspray you say? Yep, because we used my favorite painting tool, my handy dandy HomeRight Finish Max sprayer. I love this thing. It’s so easy to use, easy to clean up, and saved me days worth of work compared to painting with a brush.
Before we got started, we papered off the floor of the porch with brown paper and tape, and used sheet plastic to protect the house. It took about 30 minutes to protect everything, but the rest of the day went much faster.
Next, we used the sprayer to give all of the rails a good coat of paint. I’d go up one side, down the other, through the middle and do it all over again. I did add enough water to the paint so it was about the consistency of buttermilk before using it in the sprayer. The thin paint dries very quickly on a warm day. It only took me (by myself) about 2 hours to paint a rather large area of porch rails (8 ft. wide, 24 ft. long). Pretty quick, eh?
After it was all dry, then we stained the floor. Originally I was going to use my StainStick (which I LOVE), however it did not get into the gaps on the deck. It worked beautifully on my bedroom floors, but this was different, and so we stained it all with a brush. When I say we I mean my girls. They did a fabulous job!
We woke up that morning with bare wood and it was all complete by late afternoon. Totally worth all of the work. Now we’ve got two more to do. Have mercy. At least I know how to paint a porch in one day now.
But, first, I’m going to finish decorating this one. I started with a DIY rug with a few more projects up my sleeve. Stay tuned!
And, if you want more info on the paint sprayer, be sure to see my post on my secret to paint almost anything.
*Thanks to HomeRight for partnering with me on this post. All ideas, projects & opinions are 100% my own.*
Beth says
October 23, 2013 at 6:01 amI absolutely love the blue! I would have never thought of that.
-Beth
http://www.littleworldcalledwonderland.blogpsot.com
Patty Wilkins says
October 23, 2013 at 6:25 amGina, I love your blog. You’re down to earth and you make each project inspiring. I love what you’ve done with your porch.
Patty 🙂
andrea cammarata says
October 23, 2013 at 6:34 amThis is cool Gina!!!! The porch looks AWESOME and the twinkling lights…the perfect touch!!! : ) hugs…
Tina @ The Primitive Junkie says
October 23, 2013 at 7:41 amThe porch looks great! After reading your first post about using the Home Right Finish Max Sprayer, I purchased one but haven’t had a chance to use it yet. For some reason I am a little nervous about using a sprayer, but you make it seem so easy. So, I guess I need to roll up my sleeves and take the plunge. I love your blog and enjoy reading all of your posts.
Debbie says
October 23, 2013 at 9:22 amit looks great! I am always nervous about using a paint sprayer, but I can see this job would have taken days without it.
Cynthia says
October 23, 2013 at 1:51 pmThis looks great! I wonder if I can paint my Traxx deck? It is supposed to hold-up to anything, for several years, but it looks a little ragged. Of course, we are deck people. We live on our deck in the summertime and spend a lot of days out there on warm days in the winter. I’m afraid to paint this stuff. I might try a tiny area in the corner. Thanks!
Chris says
October 24, 2013 at 5:38 amLooks great!! How has the paint held up? The paint on my picket fence is flaking and peeling. A professional painter told me it was because the paint was most likely sprayed on instead of rolling/brushing. I now have to pressure wash all the old paint off before I can repaint. Ugh!
Gina Luker says
October 24, 2013 at 7:28 amIt’s held up really well! I wonder if its because I watered it down and so it seeped into the wood a bit? It still looks great, though!
Laura Clark says
October 25, 2013 at 9:58 pmI love the photo of the porch at night. It reminds me of a scene from a movie, so inviting.
Paulette says
August 1, 2017 at 6:15 pmWhat’s the name of the color of the paint and what is the finish for outside porch
Gina Luker says
August 2, 2017 at 7:33 amHi Paulette,
The colors are Benjamin Moore Midnight Dream + Igloo White, I hope you have a fun paint project in mind 🙂