While natural brick walls are a timeless home aesthetic, painting exterior wall bricks is an excellent way to update your property, enhance its architectural beauty, boost curb appeal and add value to your home.
Still, you should consider some factors before investing in exterior wall paint for bricks. For example, removing paint from bricks can be tricky if you have a change of heart, and painting brick surfaces is more challenging than painting flat surfaces.
Fortunately, our experts at The Ohio Painting Company have the skills and equipment to paint brick walls with superior-quality paints. So, if you’re after a sleek, upgraded look, follow these tips for painting brick exteriors.
What You Need to Paint Your Brick Exterior
Gather the following tools and supplies to coat your brick walls with exterior paint.
- Painter’s tape
- Dropcloths and sheeting
- Stepladder
- A garden hose and pressure washer
- Acrylic latex caulk
- Gloves
- Quality exterior wall paint
- Paint rollers
- Professional-grade paint brushes
- Paint trays
How to Prep Exterior Brick for Painting
You must prep bare brick surfaces before layering on any paint products. Because brick surfaces are uneven and textured, dust, dirt, cobwebs, mold and mildew can accumulate on the surface. Here’s how to prep exterior brick for painting.
1. Pressure-Wash the Surface
While a garden hose can wash away the surface layer of dust, dirt and cobwebs, a pressure washer can efficiently power away years of mold and mildew. Skipping this essential step will adversely affect the paint job’s longevity. Mold and mildew spores can continue proliferating, even through a coat of paint. At the same time, painted-over dust and cobwebs will show as uneven patches.
2. Repair Damaged Bricks
After pressure-washing the bricks, wait for the surface to dry and look for cracks, holes, gaps and other damage. You can fill in superficial flaws with acrylic caulk. For more extensive damage, you should use mortar to repair the surface.
Painting over these imperfections is unwise. Besides creating irregularities, it will allow the paint to seep into gaps and cracks, leaving empty spaces that adversely affect your home’s appearance.
Step-by-Step Guide to Painting Exterior Brick
Beyond choosing a modern, trendy color and figuring out what kind of paint for to use for your brick exterior, you’ll need to prioritize several additional preparation steps before starting. After pressure-washing the walls and repairing damage, you can move on to the following stages of your painting project.
1. Place Dropcloths or Protective Sheets
Use dropcloths or protective plastic sheets to cover bushes and other landscaping elements. These coverings ensure paint spills won’t detract from your home’s curb appeal.
2. Remove Light Fixtures and Seal off Windows and Doors
If your home has exterior wall lights or other fixtures like street number plates, remove them to avoid painting over them. Then, use painter’s tape and protective coverings to seal windows and doors around your home. Place painter’s tape carefully around trims to ensure neat, uniform results.
3. Mix Paint and Fill Paint Trays
You might feel tempted to forgo the effort of mixing the paint and using a paint tray, but this mistake can create uneven results. That’s because exterior wall paint formulations can separate as gravity pulls the pigments down, leaving a semi-transparent layer of liquid on top. After mixing the paint in the can, fill your tray halfway with paint.
4. Paint Around the Window and Door Trims
With a small, angled professional-grade paintbrush, paint around the edges of door and window trims. Avoid using a roller for these tricky areas. A paintbrush allows maximum precision.
5. Paint the Roofline
It’s best to start at the top and work your way down when painting exterior walls. Use your stepladder to reach the roofline, then choose a medium-sized paintbrush to paint along the roofline. Be sure to paint horizontally across the bricks, using the edge of the brush to paint within the mortar lines between bricks. You will need to load the brush with minimal paint to prevent dripping.
6. Fill Mortar Lines With a Medium-Sized Paintbrush
Ensuring paint coats every nook and cranny, you must carefully paint within all the mortar lines between the bricks. This step can be time-consuming, but the extra effort will ensure desirable results. While you should continue to load the brush with minimal paint, there’s no need to be ultra-precise for this step.
7. Paint Bricks With a Roller
Next, use your paint tray and roller to cover the exterior wall surfaces with paint. As with the paintbrushes, you’ll want to be conservative to prevent dripping. Use a vertical motion and avoid painting too close to the window and door trims.
8. Apply a Second Layer of Paint
While some quality wall paint products only require one coat, applying two coats for even results is generally best. The second layer will prevent the underlying color around the window and door trims and the surface of the brick from peeking through. An additional layer also provides extra protection, ensuring maximum longevity.
9. Allow Sufficient Drying Time
Exterior wall paint can take up to 24 hours to dry thoroughly. While you can carefully remove the painter’s tape and protective coverings from windows and doors, avoid refitting light fixtures and other wall applications to prevent ruining the wet paint around these areas.
Transform Your Home’s Exterior With The Ohio Painting Company
Since a DIY exterior painting project can take several days, consider saving valuable time by hiring a team of professional painters. The Ohio Painting Company is a leading commercial and residential painting company serving Cincinnati, Dayton and surrounding areas. As a top-rated painting service, we promise to respect customers’ time and money.
Our house siding painting services start each job with a proposal. One of our experts will visit your home to assist with color selection and set a convenient date that fits your schedule. We’ll thoroughly prep your home before we start painting, and follow up with a comprehensive quality check to ensure you are happy with the results.
Request a quote online to elevate your home’s exterior with a fresh coat of superior-quality paint.
