Completing a Job

For the last month it has been too wet to garden, so what is there to do?  Well, there's always things on the list that don't require dry weather.  I decided to knock a few things off the to-do list.  Some were indoor jobs and some were outdoors, but not out in the inclement weather.  When we built our home, we opted to go with fiberglass columns on the front porch.  The fiberglass columns were cheaper than the wooden ones or concrete ones and they don't rot.  But there are some negative aspects to them, first and foremost painting them!  Or more precisely, getting paint to stick to them.

I guess the fiberglass columns are so smooth and slick, it is hard for the paint to bind to the surface. Over the course of about four years, the paint begins to peel and flake off and looks ratty and then I know it is past time to get to work.  I think we've repainted them 4 times.  First we took an electric sander and sanded the columns where the paint was flaking, roughing it up so the paint would stick. Even though we were under the porch, the rain still stopped us several times.

We taped newspaper around the base of the columns so as not to get paint on the bricks or cement. Then we primed the columns to give the paint something to stick to.  Finally, we put two coats of paint on each column.  We went through lots of sandpaper, three paintbrushes, two cans of primer and a can of paint.  With the rain-outs we experienced, it took us two weeks to finish up the job, and I was happy to have that done!

Finis

"Give us the tools and we will finish the job." - Winston Churchill