Painting brick surfaces have become a trend that is sweeping across modern homes. Perhaps, painting that ugly fireplace surround can add an exciting new look and appeal. While brick surface and exterior painting improve the value of your property, it requires specialized painting and cleaning approach and skills. It is not a walk in the park. However, before resorting to painting your brick exterior and surfaces, it is vital to consider the pros and cons of painting brick surfaces.

“The Good” of brick surface painting

• It brightens up a potentially dark interior space. A skilled painter understands how to transform the appearance of dull brick into an inviting interior space. It is the best alternative instead of reinstalling your bricks.

• The process is simple, hassle-free and poses no damages to your bricks. It is not a labor-intensive task as it only requires mild cleaning solutions to eliminate the dirt on the surfaces of your bricks.

• Replaces and prevents the appearance of structural defects and cracks. Paintable silicone caulk or latex fillers are excellent in sealing cracks and preventing the occurrence of structural defects.

• Interior brick surface painting is affordable. If on a tight budget and need to brighten up your home interiors, you can resort to painting.

• It guarantees long lasting results. Once it is dry, painted brick surfaces can last for quite a long time. The brick soaks up the paint making it appear like a sponge. Therefore, you are comfortable with the color you’ve picked as stays for a long time. Besides, it is also resistant to external damages.

“The Bad” of brick surface painting

• The entire procedure is time-consuming. Exterior brick painting requires unique skills and demands lots of preparation and physical labor. In fact, you have to make a thorough selection of products to coat and clean the surface ahead of time. If you are a newbie, then you may need to contact a painting expert for advice. Remember you have to consider climate and other environmental factors. Again, you need to make a proper selection of bricks to use with certain paints. They should be compatible.

• It takes a long time to dry. Sometimes even if it appears to be dry, it still needs time to dry more. If it does not dry well, then the water that is trapped in can result in bubbling making the paint to peel off.

• If cracks and mortar are not in good condition, then you may need to repaint. Brick conditioner can be used and should be dry.

• There is no going back to original color once you have your bricks painted. This can be a major drawback especially if you get bored with the same color for years.

• Cleaning a painted brick unlike regular bricks is cumbersome. Again, if your bricks are painted lightly, then you may need to repaint it to retain its appeal. Light or white paint color can show dirt easily compared to traditional colors.

Conclusion

Brick surface painting is a critical task that requires a properly informed mind. It is advisable to contact a painting expert when in doubt as brick surface painting is a challenging project.