Roof painting basics
When painting a large area as a roof, some special considerations are necessary. The most important factor is the weather. No rain or fog is the highest priority, too hot is not great and either the wind must be still or just a slight breeze. A slight breeze is good for keeping the bugs out of the paint.
The paint material is important. I usually choose an enamel, with a hard tough finish and white is the color. The best paint is usually farm implement enamel. Before any painting the roof should be washed at least 2 times, then scuffed with some manmade abrasive pads called scotchbrite made by 3M. There are some cheaper pads made by others. The red pads are about 240 grit and will scuff the existing paint very nicely. Rinse off or wash the roof again, and get ready to paint the roof. The best paint applications are done by painting on at least 3 coats, each coat changing the direction of paint application. The passes should over lap the preceding coat by half the spray pattern. If ya spray too much paint on a spot, there will be a run, not enough paint will make a thin spot. Runs can be sanded away. Usually any top coat or clear coat is not worth the time and money. The more shine the white makes, the more heat is reflected away. Paint is about $35 per gallon and the reducer about $18 per gallon. The paint is reduced from 15 - 30 percent. If the finished paint is rough, a buffer and some compound will make all look good. The best time of the day to paint is very late or at dusk. Some "A" frame step ladders can be used to make a nice scaffold, with a few planks. Always have a helper for many reasons. The good old enamel takes about 2-3 weeks for the paint to become completely dry. The acrylic paints are nice to apply and any problems can be cleaned up or repaired. Frank Oh yeah, stay away from limbs.
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