Cliff May Restovation

That's what it said on the side can of Rust-Oleum "Aluminum" paint. I should have listened. By 5PM last Saturday I had a massive headache and a killer sunburn, but I got a lot done.

With spending more time in the pool I've begun to notice a lot more in the back pool area that bugs me. Take, for example, the multi-hued nature of fascia boards. Some were white, some are dark blue, and in the back by the pool they were a pastel blue color:

BEFORE

...and on the house:

I'm slowly but surely carrying out my plan of blue-radication. I want to make the fascia boards all around the house consistent so they got the same silvery-grey treatment as the front.

AFTER

I know it's not that big of a change. But just try and envision it with the dark beams and the doors and windows appropriately painted.

About those fumes...

I had two other side projects as well. One of the biggest eyesores in my pool area is the pool equipment. The location is dubious -- so much so that every week while cleaning I practically trip over it and exclaim, "Why the !*$*!#$* did they put the pool equipment here?" So I had several options: 1. Pay to have it moved ($$$$$$$$$), 2. Build a cover, 3. Somehow make it look cool. Here's what I did:

BEFORE

AFTER

We've gone from an ugly necessity of pool sanitation to what looks like a piece of post-modern art produced by a 1st year mechanical engineering student on a bender.

But wait, there's more!

My headache wasn't bad enough as a result of the pool equipment painting so I decided to tackle a rather ugly (and rusting) metal fence nearby. At first I was doing it purely for aesthetics but as a progressed I realized the rust was farther along than I thought and this paint includes built-in rust inhibitor. So, as my favorite perpetrator of securities fraud would say, "It's a good thing!"

BEFORE

AFTER

I really like the exterior aluminum / stainless steel / satin chrome acceents on the house. I'm also pleasantly surprised with the quality of the paint. The fence looks great at anything more than 1ft and the pool equipment looks pretty good. I think I may do a light sanding and 2nd coat on the pool equipment (at least the big areas) to get more even consistency. I did no surface prep at all this time.