Painting Exterior Trim Molding
Also see:With the siding done it's time to paint the trim moldings. This includes the doors, windows, overhangs, shutters, gables and other architectural features that are usually done in an accent color to compliment the siding color. See painting raised–panel doors for help painting doors.
Painting House Trim
Use an extension ladder and make sure the siding is dry before setting it against the house. Be sure to pad the ends of the ladder where it makes contacts to prevent damage to the new paint. Start at the top and work your way down.
If you didn't paint the soffit overhang first, use a 2½ sash brush to coat it now. While you're up there do any gutters and down spouts and corner molding that you plan to paint, at the same time. Work from an extension ladder using the same technique of moving across the house as with painting horizontal siding. Paint corner moldings, etc., down to the ground before moving on.
Paint a section of the overhang as far as you can reach and then move the ladder to do the next section. Start each new section at the farthest point and brush back into the fresh paint to blend it. Paint the whole overhang from one corner to the next before stopping to avoid brush marks and ensure a smooth finish.
Painting Exterior Windows
With the overhang done, move down to the next piece of trim, usually second story windows. Paint the windows starting at the top, inner most parts. For the window pictured here that would be the mullion molding around the glass in the upper sash. Work your way out to finish painting the window, doing the sash frame, case molding and finally the sill.
Apply the paint with back and forth strokes to cover the surface well and then immediately brush it out along the length of the molding. Brush from one end of a piece of molding the the next, without stopping, to leave a smooth coat. Let the paint overlap onto adjoining moldings a little and paint them next, to blending the finish together.
Painting Shutters
If you're painting window shutters, try to remove them to work and then hang them back up when you're done. If you're working with the shutters off the house, set them on a couple blocks of wood to keep them off the floor.
Use a brush to push paint into the joint between the louvers and the shutter frame, starting at the top. Go from top to bottom of one section of louvers and coat the corners with plenty of paint. Work until the brush needs reloading and then go back and catch any dripping from the corner. Turn the shutter around if you can and catch any drips running down the other side. If you're painting the other side, coat those corners too. Go back to the top and coat out the louver fins, working back and forth out from each corner and into the center to blend the coat.
When all the louvers are done paint the top and bottom edges of the shutter, letting the paint overlap a bit onto the rails. Paint the rails and stiles of the shutter frame next. Start with the rails, letting the paint overlap the stiles and blending in the paint from the top edge. Paint the edges of the shutter next and then paint the stiles to finish and blend all the paint together.
