Painting your exterior shutters is one of the most effective ways to lengthen their lifespan and slow down their appearance downgrading. If you are thinking of painting your shutters and don't know how to do so, check out our topic below on how to paint exterior shutters. Along with that, we would provide some additional pieces of information for a better understanding of the matter of painting exterior shutters.
Ways To Paint Your Exterior Shutters
There are two ways, which are normally used to paint exterior shutters. The first method to conduct the task would be using paintbrushes. The pros and cons are quite evident. If you head for the method, you would not have much to prepare in advance of your painting process. Besides, it takes less paint to cover the whole area. Nonetheless, the downsides of the paintbrushes are time-consuming and effortful.
On the other hand, we would recommend that you use sprayers to cover the exterior shutters. This method is also commonly used by households and constructors. It is faster with not so remarkably greater resources needed. To put it in comparison, spraying is the more practical way to paint exterior shutters. But you are free to choose between the two painting methods.
How To Paint Your Exterior Shutters - A Step-By-Step Guide
Painting exterior shutters is not going to be tricky, but you can use some help from the others if you think it is necessary. In the next lines, we are going to go through simple processes to paint both new and old exterior shutters.
For Old Exterior Shutters
For the case of old exterior shutters, you would have to prepare several additional tools and take on a few steps before adding a new layer of paint to them. First of all, you need some specialized liquid for paint removal to completely remove the current paint layer. After that, you should mildly use sandpaper to sand the shutters before applying a layer of primer to them, but this should only be applied to wooden shutters.
As you apply a layer of primer to the exterior shutters, you can use either a paintbrush or sprayer. Once you have done applying the primer, leave the shutters to be completely dry before painting them again. The primer would be a lining to the painting later for a better sense of paint application.
One more note is that you don't really have to take exterior shutters off the wall, but it is advisable to do so in this painting task. In case you don't take the shutters off, you should find a way to ensure that there is no painting on the wall or window glass once you have finished the whole task.
For New Exterior Shutters
If you have brand new exterior shutters to paint, the process is much shorter. For these shutters, don't hang them on right after you have purchased the items. Instead, place them on a surface or any type of holder to paint them. For wooden exterior shutters, it is still necessary to add a layer of primer to them for better paint absorption. Then the next step is to leave them 100 percent dry.
After the shutters completely dry, you can start to add a paint layer of any color you wish. In this stage, you can use sprayers or paint brushes to paint the shutters. The painting process should start from the center, then spread evenly to the corners. You should paint a light layer first, leave them to dry again, then add the second layer for the best-desired paint color.
The whole process is not difficult, but it would take a day or two to finish because of the waiting gaps. Now that the painted exterior shutters are dry, you can put them back in their places or start the installation stage.
Why Should We Paint Our Exterior Shutters?
Painting your exterior shutters would bring more value to your house rather than just a more eye-catching appearance. The leading benefit of painting exterior shutters would be extra protection for your shutter against natural elements such as UV light and rain. Such elements when exposed to your shutters for a prolonged period would turn the shutters faded and more vulnerable, as well as the shutters' protection layer for your windows become less effective.
The second benefit of painting your exterior shutters is the look enhancement. A new layer of paint would definitely upgrade the old look of the shutters. You can also alter the vibe of your old shutters through painting.
Make sure that you have completely removed the old painting before applying a new one as our guide has mentioned. An aesthetic look from your exterior shutters can help to upgrade the look of your whole house layout. If you have not known this, exterior shutters have been house decorators since the 1700s and were extremely popular in the Victorian Era in London.
It is not hard to paint exterior shutters with all the support you can get, so if you are still hesitant about whether to paint the exterior shutters or not, the firm answer would be yes. It is valuable to the function of the shutters, their lifespans, and their appearance. Hence, there should be no reason to hold you back from painting the exterior shutters.
Dos And Don'ts In Painting Your Exterior Shutters
Our final sections would be for the dos and don'ts when you paint your exterior shutters. The rules are quite simple, but we believe that they would be very helpful when you start to do the painting job.
Dos
- Do proper preparation: preparation work is always one of the most crucial factors in deciding if your task can end up successfully, so it is a do for proper preparation.
- Use a satin sheen for your shutters: why not? A satin sheen would really enhance the look of your exterior shutters, especially for wooden shutters.
- Apply multiple thin layers: applying multiple thin layers would get your shutters the desired colors. The paint is also spread more evenly when you do this.
- Put on a compatible color tone: the color palette should be in agreement, which later leads to the whole visual-pleasing layout. Consider the color tone before you get down to the painting. If you are looking for something impressive, don't hesitate to go bold! Some color combinations for wall and exterior shutters you can take as references are: white and mild blue or green tones, white and brown, brick red and black, gray and black.
Don'ts
- Sand the Vinyl shutters: sanding should be applied to wooden shutters only before you paint them. Sanding the vinyl or any other material would not be the ideal choice for you.
- Do one thick layer of paint: avoid one thick paint layer application is to be done. When doing this, you would accidentally spread the paint unevenly, and certain areas would not get processed if you are dealing with louvered shutters. Apart from that, doing one thick layer of paint would get you a much-downgraded color when the paint dries.
- Skip the primer: primer should always be applied in advance. It is a layer of lining to the final painting. If you have wooden exterior shutters, skipping the primer may get you into a very unwanted situation.
Verdict
Here are our final lines on the topic of how to paint exterior shutters. When painting exterior shutters, keep in mind that you must do a primer layer, multiple thin layers of paint, and leave them completely dry before the next application. Do not be afraid to go bold with colors. Color abstracts can be a wonderful highlight to the overall layout.
