Why did this seemingly simple paint project take three days, you ask? When we rebuilt our porch in 2005, the only parts of the existing porch that we could save were the roof itself and the floor framing (neither of which were original to our 1848 house) . Rotten beams and joists were replaced or reinforced. Trim and beadboard overhead (which were old but , again, not original) were replaced with Azek (pvc board).
Azek is supposed to take paint very well, but it must be cleaned to remove any dirt or greasy film. My painter recommended that I use denatured alcohol to scrub the ceiling down thoroughly. Working overhead scrubbing the ceiling was exhausting. I worked in shifts and finished the job over the course of an entire day.
Here it is ... all clean and ready for paint.
(pay no attention to those spiderwebs in the doorway)
The manufacturer says that primer isn't necessary if Azek is painted with a quality acrylic paint, but I wasn't taking any chances. I primed the ceiling with bonding primer ... rolling it on with a hot dog roller and following with a 4" brush to remove any roller marks and to work the primer into all of the grooves of the beadboard.
By the time I had spent an entire day scrubbing the ceiling, and the next afternoon applying primer, I assure you that my neck and shoulders were really, really sore. I was on a roll, however, and I wasn't going to let pain get in the way of finishing this project in a timely manner.
Day Three was the pay off ... I finally was going to see some COLOR!
Just like I did with the primer, I applied the first coat of color with a roller and followed behind with a brush. When painting things like beadboard (or siding) it's important to work in long sections from one end of the ceiling (or wall) to the other, to keep a wet edge and avoid lap marks.
I applied the second coat of color with a 3" brush ... no roller this time. I wanted the look of a hand-brushed finish, which brings out the subtle satin sheen of the paint I chose.
It feels wonderful to step outside onto the porch and see this new ceiling color. There is still a LOT of work to be done before I can say that our porch is finished ... so I'm breaking this job into small, easily accomplished mini projects so I can wallow in a rewarding feeling of instant gratification after I complete each one.
In some of the photos above, you see glimpses of one of my most important tools for working on any project up high ... my little rolling scaffolding.
I bought this scaffolding at the beginning of the renovation of our house in 2003, and it has been one of the best purchases EVER. Any time I have to work on a ceiling or high up on walls, this gives me a large, safe platform from which to work. Without this, I cannot imagine how difficult it would have been to paint the porch ceiling.
Project Checklist:
Front door? One more coat of paint to go, after I remove the hardware and caulk the cracks.
Ceiling? Finished!!
Next? Crown molding. Going shopping for that later today.
