Get your exterior walls in shape with this ultimate painting and maintenance guide

Painting the exterior surfaces of your home takes very different planning and preparation from doing interior spaces. This is a comprehensive guide to the entire process so that your home interior design is ready for the cool weather
 

Identifying And Tackling Problem Areas

Before you get started with all the steps involved in painting including surface prep, you need to check your exteriors for various kinds of damage and fix those first. There are several issues you should be on the lookout for:

2.    Age and exposure to the elements causes cracks, especially on the exterior walls. This can also lead to weed growth near and within the cracks. Remove the weeds and seal in cracks before starting the painting process. To seal the cracks, Asian Paints recommends using their SmartCare Crack Seal which is a fibreglass reinforced, ready-to-use crack-filling compound for masonry surfaces or their SmartCare Textured Crack Filler which is an acrylic crack filler with a grainy texture for exterior surfaces.
 

Preparing Your Surfaces For The Paint

After you have taken care of the problem areas, you will need to prepare the walls correctly for the paint to adhere to it well. This could include re-plastering or application of putty and primers. Asian Paints provides a range of undercoats for exterior surfaces depending on your needs.

1.    Clean the surfaces thoroughly to remove dirt, dust and other residue. You can scrape the walls with a wire brush where necessary and finish with jet washing the surfaces. You will also need to sand down the surfaces to remove loose particles and old paint flakes.  

2.    It is at this stage that the professionals might recommend re-plastering in case of major damage. Freshly plastered surfaces are alkaline which can cause issues like patchiness and lime blooming which is a white discolouration on the paint. To avoid this, you should let the plaster cure properly with water for at least four weeks before painting. 

3.    You might then need to apply putty over any minor irregularities or imperfections in the surface for a smooth canvas.    

4.    After the putty dries completely, it’s time to apply a primer. This step is important as the primer enables the paint to adhere to the wall better and provides a layer of protection to make the paint job last longer. 

5.    Pay attention to your roof tiles at this stage. This surface directly faces the sun and rain while also being porous so the tiles might need a special coating. Check out Asian Paints’ Apex Tile Guard that comes in a range of shades. This water-based coating for roof tiles, Kerala bricks and non-porous baked clay tiles provides water repellence and resistance against algal and fungal growth.
 

7.    Choose emulsions that come with at least a five-year performance warranty that covers against issues like fading, flaking, peeling, algal and fungal growth. 

8.    Lastly, you can purchase sample sizes to try out different colour combinations. Asian Paints also has a wonderful guide, which  you can download here, to help you choose the right colours and combinations for the exterior spaces. 

Luxury Products For The Most Beautiful Exteriors

Other than the prepping products already mentioned, the brand has a wide range of exterior paints to choose from. Asian Paints offers a range of high-quality plain finishes to colour and protect your walls. You can also choose from a wide selection of textured finishes. Some of these are:

1.    The Ultima Allura range is a luxury selection of textures inspired by the colour tones of Argentina and Italy.  Ultima Allura Venezio gives a fine-grain textured finish. Ultima Allura Torino is made with selected marble chips and lends a beautiful antique look. Ultima Allura Graniza is a grainy textured finish imparting a granite appearance. 

2.    The Apex Duracast range is specially designed intermediary coatings that add a wide range of textures. You can use this to create fine textures like Cane Weave, Honeycomb, Ripples, Spring Time and Tropical. Apex Duracast Pebbletex is also designed to resist fungal and algal growth and can be used to create Bubble and Headcut patterns. Apex Duracast Roughtex helps to increase the life of the plaster by protecting it from wind-driven rain. It is also UV-resistant and helps release trapped moisture from the paint surfaces and substrate. The super-premium Apex Duracast Dholpurtex is composed of high-quality durable acrylic modified resin, is UV resistant and designed with anti-algal and anti-fungal properties. Use this to create luxurious patterns like a real Brick look, a drizzling Brushing effect, the look and feel of Dholpur Stone, or a unique Spray pattern. 

3.    Finally, check out their Ultima Wall Art series with unique designs and patterns to add a little character. The Express series comes in Untamed, a stencil pattern collection with designs which include paw prints, birds in flight and geometric fish that can be used as a small accent or sweeping across a wall. Music aficionados would love the patterns from Rhythmic which include musical bars, pulses and beats. The patterns of the Spiritual collection reflect your inner calm with soothing chimes, ethereal swirls and pleasing blooms. Prayer for Earth is inspired by Buddhist philosophy and imagery and draws from the mantras inscribed on stones in sacred spaces. The Prosperity series includes Laughing Fields, a sweeping geometric flying-rhombus pattern. The floral designs of Singing Flowers replicate traditional north Indian phulkari embroidery art while Dancing Waves is inspired by the swaying fields during the harvest season, symbolising abundance and prosperity.