I think, calculate and plan by myself 

It is an eyesore to watch the railing and boundary wall of my house deteriorating for many years.  

The paint has long gone, replaced by moldy walls. It was an unpleasant view. 

The boundary wall needs a facelift  but  it is costly to hire people for repainting.

Time does not permit DIY painting because working in the media industry is time consuming.

The other reason is to find time to learn how to do the painting because I have no  knowledge of basic rules.

Then, the pandemic came when everyone could not go anywhere as before. 

Now, time favours me as a retiree to make the boundary wall appealing and pleasant again.  

First lesson: Using the water pressure

It started when my youngest son gave me a birthday present.

The gift is a High-Pressure Cleaners (HPR) model K2.350 from K’A’RCHER. 

In simple terms, it was the water pressure.

He wants to help me in cleaning the house  compound.

However, he  studies abroad.

Thus, what he did was scrolling through a local e-commerce website and find a “helper” to ease my work.

The water pressure arrived in a big box with all the  parts. Watching a video on how to assemble and use it, is the first step.

After  replaying the video many times, I managed to assemble the parts and learned how to use them. 

Second lessons: Washed the retaining wall before painting

My first aim was to clean the moldy retaining wall to practice using the water pressure.

I  started early in the morning to avoid the blazing sunlight.

The water pressure is easy to handle.  However, there were a few times the machine was not working but was able to figure it out fast. 

There is nothing wrong with the machine. It happened for the first time.

Sometimes the water hose is loose or the power supply is not connected properly. 

After 20 minutes of working with it, the hard work becomes less of a burden. 

Two hours later, I finished cleaning the retaining walls. 

Cleaning the boundary wall

On the second day, the work to clean the boundary wall began. The water pressure spreads water to the wall and cleans up all the mold on the wall.

Cleaning the boundary wall takes a longer time as it is 50 meters long. Both sides, inside the compound and another outside had to be cleaned.

The distance is equivalent to 100 meters, and it takes four days to clean the boundary wall. 

The waiting period for the wall to dry is three days. Tropical hot and sunny weather helps the wall dry faster.  

In between the break waiting for the wall to dry, I did some research through the internet for the painting work.

Third lessons: How I choose the paint

After gathering the information, I went to a local hardware shop to buy paint, sealer, roller and brush.

The shop assistant introduced a type of paint suitable for the exterior wall.

They show  two brands that are available in their store. Between the two, the brand Nippon Weather Shield is a choice.

An advice to use sealer before paint coating as you can get the exact colour from the paint. 

The information from the internet is that sealer paint provides good adhesion between the substrate and the new paint. 

The sealer paint makes your painting job a hassle-free experience. Regardless of the brand or quality of paint, a sealer coat helps a lot.

I bought a five-litre container paint and sealer each and only added it after the first one finished. 

Time to start panting

As usual, work starts at 8 in the morning until 12 pm. It is hot to paint under the sun. 

Furthermore, it is not a good painting under hot weather because the paint in the container dries faster.

It starts with the sealer. The liquid is  white in colour with a thin coating. This undercoat is  important to make your paint colour look good.

Fourth lesson: Plan my work

The work on the boundary wall was scheduled part by part.  It was  divided into three sections of the wall. 

After the first section finishes with sealer, the  waiting period to dry is  one day. Then,  the painting of  the exterior paint starts. The process for one section is  three days to complete.

After  finishing the first section,  followed by the second and third continuously. 

The boundary wall has a new look with Nippon exterior wall paint. The new image reaches the  target to change the outlook. 

Panting the railing

The boundary wall has a metal railing design. At the beginning of the  work, there is no plan to paint the metal railing.

However, after  finishing  painting the boundary, I made the decision  to paint the railing. 

The railing has two colours. The flower design is gold while the straight metal is green. 

The work is reduced by painting only the straight railing as it is easier and needs a touch up.  

Then, I bought five-litre  oil-based paints for metal, the Nippon brand. 

The oil-based paints take much longer to dry but it is not a problem since the weather is hot and sunny. 

It took five days to finish painting the metal railings of the 50 meters wall boundary with two railing entrance gates all by myself.

By painting the straight railing only and not the flower design, the whole railing looks pleasant. 

One thing  is that luckily as soon as I finish the whole painting the rainy seasons begin.

Motivation for the hard work

As a retiree, I need physical activities for my well-being.

You see, there are many cases after someone retired by doing nothing that affected their health.

So, I want to avoid that condition by doing work on my own to enhance the home. It takes three weeks to finish the job. 

Doing the work makes my physical and brain active. The work needs me to think, calculate and plan using the brain.

Well, I take this painting work as a creative thing to do. Creative work means you must be careful, neat and focused to get the best result.

Painting the boundary wall independently  gives satisfaction. It changes the outlook on the  compound from dull to bright.

The brightness of the wall gives a nice-looking view as now I spent more time at home. 

After all, we can go nowhere freely now as the Covid-19 pandemic is an issue.