Prime time

Before I began prepping my exterior for painting, I read a long article on thisoldhouse.com detailing the steps. Scrap, clean, scrap again, sand, fix, prime and paint.

I was determined not to take any shortcuts.

I'm taking shortcuts.

My confession comes as I finish priming the north side of my house. It's the least damaged part, and is mostly hidden from public view. So I figured I could learn from this and not mess up the other parts of my exterior.

I hand-scraped, but some of the paint was embedded in the wood. I sanded, but I couldn't feather the surface enough. I cleaned, but I didn't use any TSP, since I don't want to damage any plants nearby. And I fixed minimally, but I can't replace any wooden boards.

I'm priming with an oil primer -- oh the joy of getting that out of my hair. I'm kinda sloppy about it.

And now I have to decide whether to begin painting, or go back and start over.

I think I'll paint. I need to have something finished, my chosen color on my house, or else I'll go mad with inertia.

It'll be OK. I'm learning. Help me -- how can I keep my momentum without shortcutting the process? Any tricks, gadgets or tips?