Prep the spaces you want to start by power washing the porch. This will remove dirt and grime and prepare your surfaces for painting. Let your porch dry before continuing. You don’t want to paint wet wood. Next, caulk any areas that have gaps and fill in any holes with wood putty.

Next, cover all the surfaces before you start painting–especially if you are using a sprayer like we are and tape around edges that you won’t be painting.

Assemble your tools The sprayer is so lightweight because the motor is housed in the case on the ground. It has controls on the handle that lets you easily adjust the amount of spray that comes out of the sprayer at any one time and it paints a surface 12 times faster than a brush.

You can start with it adjusted to zero and then turn it up depending on the amount of spray that you need. You can also adjust whether you want the spray to come out vertically or horizontally by turning the dial on the front of the sprayer.

It’s so easy to use, too. You just fill up the container with paint and screw it into the paint sprayer. No messy tubes or trying to connect with paint cans.

Here’s how to add the paint to the sprayer. You just fill up the container and attach the container back to the sprayer. We used exterior paint from Sherwin-Williams to paint the porch.

This sprayer is so easy to use Here are a few paint sprayer tips we learned along the way:

Practice first–don’t start with your project. Instead, get a board and practice using the sprayer first.

Keep your spraying distance even.

Go slowly to ensure even coverage.

Adjust the pressure on the sprayer to get a good spray pattern.

Overlap your sprays.

Keep the paint sprayer upright and parallel to the ground when using it.

That’s it. Your porch project is finished. These columns are over 75 years old. And when you have a few wrinkles and lines and distressed surfaces, you need all the help you can get. And the porch? It (and the people who painted it) all lived happily ever after.

This sponsored post was created by Thistlewood Farms. Head to the blog for the full post and details.