Prep, Priming and Painting Interior and Exterior Spaces
Joe and Travis review their favorite Benjamin Moore products to achieve a high-quality paint finish.
Sponsored by Benjamin Moore
As builders, we frequently work with subcontractors in order to get the quality of the project completed to our standards and to those of our clients. In terms of painting, we’re fortunate on this project to have Joe, who ran a paint company of his own for several years and knows what to look out for. A high-quality paint job begins with solid prep work and choosing a high-quality paint. On this custom home, we’re using Benjamin Moore’s line of products. We really enjoy working with these paints and primers because they allow us to deliver the top-quality finish that our clients expect.
Start with the base coat of primer
Before beginning to prime the drywall, one important step is to go around and make sure all the nail holes are filled and that the joints are properly filled with drywall compound. With that done, we sand down the drywall and clean it smooth. For this project, we are using the Benjamin Moore Fresh Start primer on the trim as well as the walls. We spray it on the trim, and for the walls we use an 18-in. roller. We start with the body of the walls first and then go around and cut in the corners.
This process exposes minor imperfections that we will then fix before repriming with the Fresh Start primer. This gives us a very good base coat before we apply the top coat.
Apply the top coat
The next step is to apply our top coat, for which we’ve chosen the Regal Select product, which is easy to brush and cuts in cleanly. It also has good body so that when we roll up, we don’t have to worry about any roller marks. It’s very durable and resistant to staining, and the finish makes it washable if needed.
On this project we’re utilizing several of Benjamin Moore’s various color and sheen options. The eggshell finish is planned for the bedroom walls, where we’re using a lot of Simply White OC-117. We also have Simply White on the ceilings, where we’re using the flat sheen, with the pearl and satin finishes on trim in the restrooms. On the exterior, we’re using colors such as Dragon’s Breath 1547 and Iron Gate 1545. Down in the lounge, we’re planning to use Lush AF-475, which is a beautiful green tone.
Prep and apply exterior paint
Our exterior paint prep process is very similar to our interior process, but with some differences. Both start with a clean surface, so even though this is new construction, we will power wash the entire house to get rid of pollen and any accumulated construction dust. After everything has dried, we’ll use a high-quality sealant and caulk all the joints; we caulk the boards to the battens and around the windows, which creates a nice finished look after we put on our top coat.
We chose Benjamin Moore Aura paint for the exterior. This paint is great when it comes to durability and UV resistance, and it requires fewer top coats to get the achieved color.
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