PAINTING SPECIFICATIONS - Doing it the Right Way can Last for 5 Years or more

Between October to early May is the time to paint your house.
This information comes from my 9 years of living here, my own personal experience and advice from two of the “best” Painting Contractors in the Ajijic area.

Specifications for Painting your House
1. Scrape and wire brush off all loose and flaking paint.

2. Power wash entire house to remove loose paint, mildew, etc and generally clean paint

3. Fill all cracks and make repairs.

4. Prime entire house with Prisa PROMETAL or Fester Festerbond. Do not prime
exterior with the old method of using Sealer, White cement and white paint as it will bleed through the final coats of paint and peel.

5. Paint 2 or 3 full coats of paint as it comes from the can. It may be thinned 10% with
clean purified water. If your Contractor wants to thin it, give him a 2.0 litre soda bottle of clean purified water from your tap per 5 gallon (19 liter) bucket. Watch them so they do not thin too much. Absolutely no more water than that.

6. Paint finish coats using a 5” or 6” brush or thick nap roller ONLY, NOT A CEPILLIO.
A cepillo does not put on enough of a paint film for durability.

7. Refinishing your wood beams on your Terrace or overhangs: Choose your stain color
and ask your Contractor to mix your stain with Pentadragon or Pentaprisa. This is a clear solution wood product that kills termites.

8. Refinishing your Metal Gates, Doors, Garage, etc: The surfaces must be sanded with
fine sandpaper first, like 220 wet/dry. Choose your color in an “Esmalte”paint, (oil base) in either Semi Gloss or Gloss. You can have your Contractor do this two ways, either by putting on a Red Oxide rust preventative primer first, then 2 finish coats of paint. Or you can have him purchase the paint with the Rust Preventative built in. It’s better to use the rust preventative separately, but not necessary unless rust is showing.

9. Ask your contractor for a 3 - 5 year Guarantee. The Contractors that I recommended
give at least a 3 year Guarantee and checks all his houses before the rainy season and repaints any areas that need it.

NOTE: Only use COMEX Vinimex paint or PRISA Poliprisa paint. It has a satinado finish. Matte finish paints are a little cheaper and do not last. Forget using inferior products like Tonal or Sherwin Williams. My house was painted 5 years ago with COMEX VINIMEX paint and still looks good. I may even get 6 + years out of the paint job.

PAINTING - 5 YEAR GUARANTEE - THE BEST
ENRIQUE PINEDA (Speaks English)
Home: 766 4097
Cell ph: 045 333 440 6364 (Call his cell phone)

OR

RUBEN “CHINO” CHAVARRIA (Speaks English)
Tel: 766 2327
Cell ph: 045 333 150 9031 (Call his cell phone)
See his website: www.elchinoajijic.com

If you use these guys, tell them John in Los Arroyos Sur recommended them.

[quote="johninajijic"]

4. Prime entire house with Prisa PROMETAL or Fester Festerbond. Do not prime
exterior with the old method of using Sealer, White cement and white paint as it will bleed through the final coats of paint and peel.

John~ when you say 'do not prime exterior with the old method of using sealer, white cement and white paint....' are you referring to the practice of mixing white glue with powdered cement and applying it to new concrete? My handyman insists this is how it is done and is about to proceed with painting my perimeter walls using this concotion, but now I am worried of the consequences. A few months ago, I had one of the worst contractors Lakeside do some repair work on my mirador and they painted after. Everywhere they painted has cracked, crazed and peeled- it looks like a horrible disease. Now I have to pay someone to go and redo the mess that idiot made. Don't want to go through this again! Suggestions, please!? Gracias.

[quote="Milena"]

johninajijic wrote:

4. Prime entire house with Prisa PROMETAL or Fester Festerbond. Do not prime
exterior with the old method of using Sealer, White cement and white paint as it will bleed through the final coats of paint and peel.

John~ when you say 'do not prime exterior with the old method of using sealer, white cement and white paint....' are you referring to the practice of mixing white glue with powdered cement and applying it to new concrete? My handyman insists this is how it is done and is about to proceed with painting my perimeter walls using this concotion, but now I am worried of the consequences. A few months ago, I had one of the worst contractors Lakeside do some repair work on my mirador and they painted after. Everywhere they painted has cracked, crazed and peeled- it looks like a horrible disease. Now I have to pay someone to go and redo the mess that idiot made. Don't want to go through this again! Suggestions, please!? Gracias.

What are you referring to as "White Glue"?? Never heard of it. Maybe it's a Mexican saying for another product. In my description of sealer I'm talking about Casther Sellador (Sealer) in the black & green can. That's the old way mixing that with white cement, white paint and water. It's only good for inside.

The latest primers to use are FESTER FESTERBOND (expensive, but very good) and COMEX PROMETAL (an oil base primer that dries to an Acrylic, much cheaper than FESTERBOND.

Preparation is key to any paint job. Power washing first is most important. Always use COMEX VINIMEX paint. It can last 6 years as it has on my house.

The "Best" painters are listed above and Guarantee their work. Forget the others as you get what you pay for.

johninajijic wrote:
What are you referring to as "White Glue"?? Never heard of it. Maybe it's a Mexican saying for another product. In my description of sealer I'm talking about Casther Sellador (Sealer) in the black & green can.

White glue and wall primer like Casther share the same main ingredient, PVA, or polyvinyl acetate. It is the binder for both products.

Take a whiff of Resistol and Sellador ... smell almost the same.

On the coast they use Cal to fight the mold but still only get a couple years out of the Mexican cheap method

sparks wrote:Take a whiff of Resistol and Sellador ... smell almost the same.

On the coast they use Cal to fight the mold but still only get a couple years out of the Mexican cheap method

Use the "cheap" method and you'll end up spending more in 6 years than a high quality paint job should last and you'll have to have the workers and the mess every 2 years with NO GUARANTEE. No thanks. Like I said you get what you pay for.

Only a Mexican who wants to use the "old method" doesn't know what he's doing because he's not up to date on newer and better products. If they use Castrol Sellador, White cement, white paint and water, it cuts the cost of the paint job significantly over using FESTERBOND. And it provides more work for the painter 2 years down the road because you have to repaint the shitty paint job. I've seen this happen over and over. CASTHER SELLADOR is about $ 80 - $ 90 pesos a gallon. FESTER FESTERBOND is about $ 400 pesos a gallon. COMEX PROMETAL is approx $ 220 pesos a gallon.

And if they're not power washing first I GUARANTEE it to peel in 2 years!

For a ballpark idea of the cost to paint a house, depending on size, by one of my recommendations below would be approx $ 40,000. - $ 50,000. pesos with a full 5 year Guarantee.

PAINTING - 5 YEAR GUARANTEE - THE BEST
ENRIQUE PINEDA (Speaks English)
Home: 766 4097
Cell ph: 045 333 440 6364 (Call his cell phone)

OR

RUBEN “CHINO” CHAVARRIA (Speaks English)
Tel: 766 2327
Cell ph: 045 333 150 9031 (Call his cell phone)
See his website: www.elchinoajijic.com

If you use these guys, tell them John in Los Arroyos Sur recommended them..