How to Refurbish the Shutters - By: Tauqeer Hassan

The most common and most used shutters are vinyl and wooden shutters. Vinyl shutters are long lasting and strong as compared to wooden shutters. Wooden shutters are not that stiff and sturdy. Unlike vinyl shutters, wooden shutters need frequent maintenance and repair to keep them serving the purpose. Vinyl shutters loose color over time and need to repaint before more damage is done to the surface.

Shutters are important part of your home and add glare to your home appearance. But due to exposure to direct sunlight and environmental factors, they tend to fade away in color and often worn. At this point they need immediate consideration to restore the lost strength and shape.

Required Items

- Auto filler
- Bucket
- Exterior latex paint
- Exterior latex primer
- 150-grit sandpaper
- Paintbrush
- Phillips head screwdriver
- Sawhorses
- Scrub brush
- Trisodium phosphate

Steps

Vinyl Shutters

1. Shutters are usually attached to the siding with four or six Philips head screws. Unfasten the screws with Philips head screwdriver. Begin with the bottom screws and

2. Remove the shutters. The shutters are secured to the siding with four or six Phillips head screws. Start with the bottom screws and work your way to the top. Place the screws in a container and mark each shutter on the back to help you remember where it goes.

3. Assemble two sawhorses under a shady area, if you are working outside. Shady area will help to get the required results from painting.

4. Next step is to clean the shutters. Take Trisodium Phosphate (TSP), available at most hardware stores. Put the required amount of TSP in the water and add desirable amount of water to it. You can add chlorine as well in case your shutters have the signs of mildew. Rub off the debris and dirt from the shutter surface with scrub brush. Toothbrush can be handy to work on cracks and corners.

5. Sand the surface of the shutter gently with 15-grit sandpaper.

6. Put the shutter on the saw horse and apply exterior latex primer to the shutter surface. To avoid mildew, you can add mildewcide to the primer as well. Using roller or paint brush, apply latex primer to the surface of the shutter properly. Cut in all the areas and edges of the shutter with paint brush, because roller cannot reach each and every part of the surface. Let the primer before proceed with paint.

7. Once the primer gets dry, apply paint to the shutter. Use exterior latex paint to coat the surface of the shutter. Properly apply paint to entire surface. Once finished, make certain that no area left unpainted. Let the paint dry before reassembly the shutter to its place.

Wooden Shutters

1. Arrange two sawhorses and take the shutters away from the house.

2. Make a solution of Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) and warm water. Clean the shutters with this solution. Take a scrub brush and rub off the debris and other dirt accumulated on the shutters surface. Wash with clean water afterwards.

3. Now take a small quantity of auto filler and putty knife. Apply the auto filler to the damaged area on the shutter with the help of putty knife. Try to make the surface as smooth as possible with putty knife. However, you still get a heap of auto filler.

4. To make the surface of the shutter properly smooth, sand the patched area. You need to use 150-grit sandpaper to smooth the surface.

5. Apply latex primer on the exterior side of the shutter. Leave the primer to dry. Later, paint the shutter surface with exterior latex paint and let it air dry for an hour or so or the time mentioned in manual.

About the Author

You might want to learn about How to Place Wood Mosaic Flooring and also How to Selecting a Hard Floor Covering for your House.

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