Prepainting work

I like painting, a lot, but what I don't like is the work required before the actual painting can start. Oh and I also don't like to wait for the paint to dry.

I have on my to-do list to paint the pergola on our terrace. To do that I started with scraping out the old loose paint.

The scraping took like one whole day, a very sunny day. Remember that song by Baz Luhrman: Everybody'd free? Well you should really do what the song recommends, or this will happen.

Wear sunscreen!

Well anyway this is what the pergola area looked after the scraping. Then A and I lightly sanded everything, that took one evening.

In some parts the wood was bit moldy on the surface and there was dust left from the sanding so I desided to wash all the wood.

With sponge and a bucket full of water and mild detergent I wiped all surfaces clean.

There was guite a difference on the wood before and after the wash, just see for yourself. The upper part has been cleaned and the lower part is not.

Now after the wash the pergola is ready for it's first coat of paint. (I bet two is needed)