How to Finish Home Exterior Block Walls
- 1). Eliminate vegetation that might interfere with your ability to access the exterior block walls, using hedge trimmers.
- 2). Clean the block walls, using a pressure washer equipped with a low-pressure tip, following the manufacturer's directions. Wait two to four hours for the walls to dry.
- 3). Stir the acrylic latex primer for five minutes, using a wooden stir stick. Pour 2 gallons of primer into a 5-gallon bucket.
- 4). Coat the exterior block walls with the primer, using a roller equipped with a nap cover. Affix the roller to an extension pole to ease the process. Dip the roller into the bucket of primer. Do not oversaturate the roller cover, as this could lead to runs and drips. Roll the primer onto the block walls in a vertical motion. Continue until all of the blocks are covered.
- 5). Use a paintbrush, manufactured for use with water-based coatings, to apply primer to areas that are inaccessible to the roller, including the mortar between the blocks. Force primer into fissures and holes by dabbing them with the paintbrush.
- 6). Wash the brush, roller and 5 gallon bucket with water. Set them aside to dry. Wait four hours for the primed block to dry.
- 7). Stir the paint for five minutes, using a wooden stir stick. Pour 2 gallons of primer into the 5-gallon bucket. Apply the paint to the primed exterior block walls in the same way you applied the primer. Wait two hours for the paint to dry. Add another coat if the primer shows through.
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