Paint your plywood porch for long-lasting protection and beauty.
Building a porch made of plywood saves money on building materials and provides a durable surface for walls, ceilings and floors. However, the raw, knotty, unfinished appearance of plywood can also become an eyesore. You can beautify and strengthen your porch's plywood walls, ceiling and floors by painting the surface with quality exterior paint, which also hides the cheap appearance and adds curb appeal to the front of your home.
Instructions
Paint Plywood Porch, Ceiling and Walls
1. Fill cracks and holes, using a putty knife and exterior wood filler. Use a step ladder to reach the plywood ceiling. Caulk the corners and seams where the plywood boards meet, using paintable silicone caulk.
2. Cover the floors with canvas drop cloths. Remove porch furniture. If you are unable to remove objects from the porch, use painter's plastic for protection. If you are not painting the porch floor, tape around the edges, where the walls meet the floor. Use blue painter's tape.
3. Wear a respirator or dust mask, and sand the plywood ceilings and walls using a sheet of 80-grit sandpaper, or an electric orbital sander. Wear safety glasses while sanding the overhead ceiling.
4. Wipe the plywood with a tack cloth, or a damp rag to remove the sanding dust. Remove dust from sills or small crevices using an old paint brush or a small floor sweeper.
5. Pour about half a gallon of oil-based exterior wood primer into an empty paint can. Stand on a step ladder and brush around the edges and corners where the plywood ceilings meet the walls. Use a 3-inch paint brush meant for use with oil paints. Prime the wall corners and the edges where the walls meet the floor.
6. Pour the oil-based primer into an empty 5-gallon bucket. Roll the primer onto the ceiling and walls using a 3/ and handle, attached to an 8-foot painter's extension pole. Allow the primer to completely dry.
7. Brush and roll the ceiling and walls with an exterior latex porch paint. Brush the ceiling and wall corners first, and complete the paint rolling last. Allow the first coat of paint to dry according to the recommendations noted on the paint can. Apply a second coat if necessary.
Paint Plywood Porch Floors
8. Remove furniture and obstructions from the porch floor.
9. Apply floor leveling compound, using a taping knife. Allow the compound to dry.
10. Sand the entire floor, using an electric orbital sander. Use a folded piece of 80-grit sand paper to sand the corners where the floor meets the walls.
11. Wipe the floor with a damp rag or tack cloth to remove sanding dust.
12. Carefully brush around the floor edges, where the floor meets the walls. Use a quality oil-based exterior floor primer and a 3-inch paint brush meant for oil paints.
13. Attach a 3/4-inch paint roller and handle to an extension pole. Dump the primer into a clean 5-gallon bucket. Roll the primer onto the floor, starting on one side of the room, working to the other side. Allow the primer to dry.
14. Brush and roll a quality exterior latex floor paint, using the same application methods used for the primer. Allow the first coat to dry and apply a second coat to achieve true color definition. Allow the final coat to dry.
15. Brush and roll a coat of clear urethane on the floor, using a 1/4-inch paint roller and a china bristle paint brush. Brush the floor edges first and complete the rolling last. Urethane provides added protection. Apply additional coats for optimum protection.
Tags: , 4-inch paint roller, Brush roll, edges where, paint brush