Tips for painting exterior brick

1. Color: Choose a paint color appropriate to your setting. A bright white may be what you think you want, but if your home gets full sun or a lot of direct sunlight, you could end up feeling like your home is actually shiny. Shady settings can use colors such as Benjamin Moore’s brighter “Atrium White”; a good full-sun option might be its creamy off-white “Evening White.”

2. Surface preparation: Houston’s hot, humid climate makes mildew a problem for home exteriors. Clean it off with a heavy-duty solution such as trisodium phosphate (TSP) with bleach, then rinse it well and allow to dry completely.

3. Base coat: Start with a coat of masonry exterior primer or primer/sealer, such as Benjamin Moore’s Ultra Spec Masonry Interior/Exterior 100 percent Acrylic Sealer Primer or Ultra Spec Masonry Interior/Exterior Acrylic High Build Masonry Primer or Sherwin-Williams’ Loxon Concrete and Masonry Primer or Loxon Acrylic Conditioner. Benjamin Moore pro tip: Use a “back brushing” technique in which the brush itself pushes paint into the mortar joints between bricks to properly apply primer and/or sealer.

4. Topcoat: Paint the clean, dry and primed/sealed surface with acrylic exterior paint such as Benjamin Moore’s Aura Exterior Paint or Regal Select Exterior High Build or Sherwin-Williams’ Loxon Self-Cleaning Acrylic or Loxon XP. Sherwin-Williams pro tip: Use nylon/polyester brushes and rollers with a synthetic nap ranging from ½ inch to 1 inch, depending on the condition and porosity of the brick.