Paint panels or timbers first?

[88v8]

I'm getting the masonry paint soda-blasted off the external panels of our C17, and the hardware store black oil paint blasted off the elm frame.

Will paint the panels, which are a harlequin of cement, lime, daub, with Teknos Siloksan Facade for ease of application and breathability, and the timber with linseed.

Is it easier to paint the frame first, or the panels? Cutting in black against not-quite-white or white against black...
I suspect it will be easier to wipe the black off the panels than the white off the very furrowed timber.

Ivor

 

[Cubist]

Hi Ivor,
Good to hear from you again.

For the frame here I've always used linseed oil, thinned crudely 50/50 with white spirit, and found it better to do this before painting the panels. That approach though works better for me as for some reason my eye finds it easier to discern the darker boundary line than the lighter when cutting in - if that makes sense. However, I've only used a white-wash for the panels and its therefore been much easier for me to remove the evidence of any slips twixt timber and panel.

Guess you'll also be refreshing/repairing the caulking too

Good luck and enjoy the project.

Steve

 

[Toby Newell]

Wood first, always. FYI tung oil is far superior to linseed oil in every aspect, apart from price. Dries faster, harder, more rot resistant, more waterproof. Apart from a few dabs when French polishing (everyone uses mineral oil now) I haven't used linseed oil for decades, it's all tung.

 

[malcolm]

For my exterior I did the limewash first and then the linseed but that was because limewash makes such a mess. The oil (not the pigment) spread about 5mm past the edge of the linseed paint into the limewash making it a bit yellow but it's not noticeable up on a first floor wall. For an interior ceiling I'm planning to linseed the fake beams first and then clay paint the panels as any oil spread will be a bit more noticeable.

 

[Toby Newell]

No possibility to edit now it seems.

Usually you do the easier to cut in finish last, that is normally the most opaque and most viscous. Also the less messy (easier to control) finish should be applied last, normally the paint.

Normal paint is thicker than thinned oil, but not raw oil, also limewash is very thin. So it's a try it and see!

Limewash will stain oak and get in the grain, so it may be an idea to put one or two 50% thinned coats onto the wood first to reduce staining and ease cleaning. Then, a few days later, apply the paint, especially if limewash. Then clean up any splashes on the wood and apply another 2 or 3 coats of neat (thick) oil, which is easier to do with a brush.

Of course you have to be careful not to get oil on the masonary because that will reduce adhesion of the paint.

It takes longer but I normally apply the oil with a brush rather than rag, I work from the bottom up wiping as I go.

Working from the bottom up allows you to wipe off drips and runs from precoated area, which is easier.

 

[Toby Newell]

For my exterior I did the limewash first and then the linseed but that was because limewash makes such a mess. The oil (not the pigment) spread about 5mm past the edge of the linseed paint into the limewash making it a bit yellow but it's not noticeable up on a first floor wall. For an interior ceiling I'm planning to linseed the fake beams first and then clay paint the panels as any oil spread will be a bit more noticeable.

that seems sensible.

 

[88v8]

Thankyou.
I should have mentioned that this is the exterior I'm doing.

I could use tung oil as a primer rather than linseed, but I'll be using Allback linseed black paint for the finish.
The timbers are too unlovely to leave bare.... resin repairs, even some concrete where the base beam has rotted. Yes, it should be cut out and made good but the room on the inside is the kitchen and I haven't the appetite for the huge disruption.
I might replace the concrete with some lime mortar as a nod towards 'doing the right thing'. Allback say that linseed can be used over lime, we'll see.

Here's the side I'm going to start with



That pic is twelve years old, it doesn't look quite so pristine now....

As the year is already far gone in terms of linseed drying time, it may just be the one side that gets done. The front is the worst, but it will need scaffolding so I shall definitely defer that until next year.

I bought some oakum, I don't even know if there is any caulking or whether it's just rendered up to the beams and that's that, but best to have oakum available just in case.
I think caulking is probably more relevant to the shrinkage of green timbers, and it could be 400 years since these were alive.

 

[Cubist]

probably more relevant to the shrinkage of green timbers, and it could be 400 years since these were alive.

True, but not absolutely. I've come across some where very minor movement in the surrounding materials seemed to be the cause of water penetration. If I were you I would get some caulking cotton too, oakum is great but too heavy/thick for some tasks.