Exterior House Painting in Remuera, Auckland: Transforming a 1920 Bungalow
Exterior house painting in Remuera: a 1920 bungalow stripped, primed and repainted
The House Painters repainted this 1920 weatherboard bungalow in Remuera, Auckland: about 180 m² of weatherboards, fascia, soffits, 10 windows and the front door. Failed sections went back to bare timber with a Paintshaver Pro, then primer, then Resene Half Foggy Grey, Half Alabaster and Nero. The House Painters are Registered Master Painters and plan the next recoat in 7 to 10 years.
The House Painters carried out this exterior house painting in Remuera, Auckland on a 1920 weatherboard bungalow with faded, peeling paint and a dated colour scheme. Colour fade ran across the whole exterior, and paint was lifting at the weatherboard edges and window frames. The goal was to fix the failing paint across about 180 m² of weatherboards and joinery and give the bungalow a new colour scheme in keeping with Remuera’s character homes. The House Painters washed, scraped, sanded and filled every surface, used vacuum-based paint stripping on the worst sections, and finished with a Resene exterior paint system.
Remuera 1920 weatherboard bungalow before the repaint, with faded pale yellow paint and chalky weatherboards
The same Remuera bungalow after the repaint in Resene Half Foggy Grey with Half Alabaster trim
Before & After Transformation
Before: Faded and Peeling
Before the repaint, the pale yellow weatherboards on this Remuera bungalow had faded across the whole exterior. Paint was lifting at the weatherboard edges and window frames. Next to the well-kept homes on the street, the bungalow looked neglected.
After: Foggy Grey, Alabaster and Nero
Resene Half Foggy Grey, a warm mid grey, now covers the weatherboards. Resene Half Alabaster on the fascia, soffits and window joinery separates the trim from the walls, so you can pick out the window frames and roofline again. The Resene Nero front door is the darkest colour on the house and draws your eye to the entrance. From the street, the bungalow now looks cared for and fits in with its Remuera neighbours.
Remuera bungalow entrance before the repaint, with faded weatherboards and a white front door
Remuera bungalow entrance after the repaint, with Half Foggy Grey weatherboards and a Resene Nero front door
The Challenge
Auckland Climate and Weatherboard Challenges
Auckland’s climate is hard on exterior paint on weatherboard homes. High UV fades colour and breaks paint down, and temperature swings move the timber, which stresses rigid paint systems. Rain gets in at window frames, weatherboard edges and door jambs wherever preparation was cut short, and the paint loses adhesion there first. On a 1920 bungalow with decades of paint history, every layer applied without proper preparation adds another weak point.
In Auckland, a preparation-first repaint recoats every 7 to 10 years, while paint applied over failing layers fails in 2 to 3, so exterior house painting on a 1920 bungalow starts with preparation.
Paint Failure Found on This Remuera Bungalow
The House Painters’ inspection found three kinds of failure:
- Peeling and lifting paint across the weatherboards and window frames, where decades of incompatible layers had lost adhesion. The blistered finish hurt the bungalow’s street presence.
- Chalking from years of UV exposure, leaving a powdery surface that needed a thorough wash and full preparation before it could hold new paint.
- Failed paint at the weatherboard edges, window sills and door thresholds, where the paint no longer protected the timber.
Why Painting Over It Would Have Failed
The old paint system had reached the end of its life. Decades of layers had gone on without systematic preparation, and UV damage and adhesion failure had spread across all surfaces.
Painting over the peeling, bubbling weatherboards would have trapped failed paint and dirt under the new layers. The new colour would have looked fine on completion day and started separating within 2 to 3 years.
The House Painters stripped the sections where layer build-up made overcoating impossible, using targeted paint stripping with a Paintshaver Pro. The House Painters washed, scraped, sanded and filled every other surface before applying the Resene weatherboard paint system.
Project Overview
Project Type: Character bungalow exterior painting
Location: Remuera, Auckland
Property Style: Weatherboard bungalow (1920)
Scope of Work:
- Exterior timber weatherboards
- Windows, doors, and exterior joinery
- Fascia, soffits and base
- Front deck
- Full exterior colour change to a new Resene colour scheme
Project Results
Completed Outcomes:
- Colour change from faded pale yellow to Resene Half Foggy Grey weatherboards, Half Alabaster trim and a Resene Nero front door
- Approx. 180 m² total exterior area painted
- 10 windows
- 1 front door
- Full surface preparation: house wash, scraping, sanding and filling on all weatherboard and joinery surfaces
- Paintshaver Pro stripping back to bare timber on the sections with failed paint, with the vacuum system collecting dust and debris on site
- Resene Sonyx 101 on weatherboards, fascia, soffits and base; Resene Lustacryl on all windows and doors
- Paint system built for a 7 to 10 year recoat cycle with regular house washing
Preparation-First vs Painting Over Failed Paint
| Preparation-first (this Remuera bungalow) | Painting over failed paint | |
|---|---|---|
| Surface preparation | Washed, scraped, sanded, filled, stripped where paint had failed, primed | Washed, painted |
| Failed paint | Stripped back to bare timber | Painted over |
| Recoat cycle | 7 to 10 years | Fails in 2 to 3 years |
| On completion day | Looks the same | Looks the same |
Our 5-Step Bungalow Painting Process
The House Painters follow a five-step process on every exterior painting project. On this Remuera bungalow, all five steps covered the approx. 180 m² of weatherboards and joinery.
1
Assessment
The House Painters inspect every exterior surface before any painting starts, looking for peeling, chalking, damaged weatherboards and failed paint. The inspection shows what each surface needs and what the new paint will sit on.
On this 1920 Remuera bungalow, the inspection found failure across the weatherboards and joinery. Some sections carried so many incompatible layers that scraping and sanding would not be enough, and those sections needed stripping back to bare timber first. The House Painters drew up a preparation plan and took the client through it before work began.
Assessment of the faded weatherboards on the 1920 Remuera bungalow before preparation
2
Preparation
The House Painters house-washed every exterior surface first to remove dirt, organic growth and the chalky residue that builds up on UV-damaged paint, because new paint will not hold on a dirty surface.
Next, The House Painters scraped, sanded and filled all weatherboard and joinery surfaces.
Some sections had built up so many layers, with adhesion failure so widespread, that scraping could not fix them. The House Painters stripped those sections back to bare timber with a Paintshaver Pro, a paint stripping machine made for weatherboards, with a built-in vacuum that collects dust and debris as it strips. On this bungalow, stripping was the only way to deal with the sections where decades of paint had failed right through. Read how The House Painters strip paint from a weatherboard home.
Paintshaver Pro stripping failed paint back to bare timber on the Remuera bungalow weatherboards
3
Priming & Filling
The House Painters primed and sealed all bare timber before any topcoat went on, whether the timber came from Paintshaver Pro stripping, sanding, or filling and repairs.
Self-priming paints do not replace a dedicated primer. The House Painters match the primer to the surface, because stripped bare timber needs a different primer from a sanded, sound surface or a fresh filler repair. On this Remuera bungalow, every stripped section, every repair and every surface that needed extra sealing got the right primer before the Resene Sonyx 101 and Lustacryl went on.
Many painters skip or rush priming. It decides whether a paint system reaches its 7 to 10 year recoat cycle or fails in 2 to 3.
Primed and filled weatherboards on the Remuera bungalow, ready for the topcoats
4
Topcoat Application
With every surface stripped, primed and prepared, The House Painters applied the Resene paint system across the approx. 180 m² exterior.
Resene Sonyx 101 went on the weatherboards, fascia, soffits and base. Sonyx 101 is a waterborne exterior paint made for toughness, adhesion and UV resistance, and it flows out to an even finish on weatherboards.
All windows and doors got Resene Lustacryl, a waterborne semi-gloss enamel that does not yellow. Windows and doors take more handling and cleaning than weatherboards, so they need a harder finish. On the front door, Lustacryl semi-gloss gives Resene Nero the polish that makes the door a focal point against the Foggy Grey and Alabaster.
The House Painters applied every coat to the manufacturer’s specification and checked the whole system before the scaffolding came down.
Resene Sonyx 101 topcoats going on the Remuera bungalow weatherboards
5
Final Detailing
Final inspection
The House Painters inspect every painted surface before the scaffolding comes down, checking finish consistency, runs, masking lines and coverage across all 180 m² of weatherboards and joinery. The window frames and joinery define this bungalow’s character, and the colour scheme only works if the lines there are exact.
Site handover
The House Painters took down the scaffolding, collected the drop sheets and cleared all Paintshaver Pro debris, preparation waste and paint waste, leaving the property clean.
7 to 10 year recoat cycle
The Resene Sonyx 101 and Lustacryl system went on over stripped, primed and prepared surfaces. With regular house washing, it will need a recoat every 7 to 10 years, a cycle that depends on the preparation underneath.
Finished Remuera bungalow in Resene Half Foggy Grey with Half Alabaster trim
Products Used
Weatherboards, Fascia, Soffits & Base
Product: Resene Sonyx 101
Where applied: Weatherboards, fascia, soffits and base
Why specified: Acrylic exterior paint with strong UV resistance and adhesion to aged weatherboards. Its flexible film moves with the timber through Auckland’s temperature swings.
Learn more: Resene Sonyx 101 on the Resene NZ website
Windows & Doors
Product: Resene Lustacryl
Where applied: All windows and doors, including the Nero front door
Why specified: Waterborne semi-gloss enamel that does not yellow and stands up to chips, handling and cleaning.
Learn more: Resene Lustacryl on the Resene NZ website
1/2 Foggy Grey
Area Used: Weatherboards
Product: Resene Sonyx 101
Code: [#B8B7AF]
[View on Resene Website →]
Why chosen: Resene Half Foggy Grey is a warm, muted mid grey. The warmth stops it looking cold across a large wall area, and at half strength it looks modern without going stark. On the weatherboards it gives the bungalow one even backdrop, and it pairs with Resene Half Alabaster for a warm grey and near-white contrast.
1/2 Alabaster
Area Used: Fascia, soffits, windows
Product: Resene Sonyx 101 & Resene Lustacryl®
Code: [#F6F6F3]
[View on Resene Website →]
Why chosen: Resene Half Alabaster is a warm near-white with a hint of grey. It looks clean and crisp without the glare pure white can have under Auckland’s strong UV light. On the fascia, soffits and window joinery it separates the trim from the Foggy Grey weatherboards, so the window frames and roofline stand out again after years of faded, single-colour paint.
Nero
Area Used: Front Door
Product: Resene Lustacryl®
Code: [#252525]
[View on Resene Website →]
Why chosen: Resene Nero is a near-black. On the front door it draws your eye to the entrance and gives the grey and near-white scheme a dark anchor. In Lustacryl semi-gloss, the door reflects light and shows the depth of the colour.
The Result
The House Painters have 25+ years of experience painting Auckland villas, bungalows and weatherboard homes. As Registered Master Painters and holders of the Master Painters Gold Award (2021 Takapuna heritage home restoration), The House Painters gave this Remuera bungalow a paint system built on full preparation.
The finished exterior uses three Resene colours across about 180 m²: Half Foggy Grey on the weatherboards, Half Alabaster on the fascia, soffits and window joinery, and Nero on the front door. The Sonyx 101 and Lustacryl system went on over washed, stripped and primed surfaces and will recoat every 7 to 10 years with proper maintenance. See how long exterior paint lasts on Auckland weatherboards.
In Remuera, street presentation shows how well a home has been looked after, and this bungalow now holds its own.
The House Painters, Registered Master Painters and holders of the Master Painters Gold Award (2021 Takapuna heritage home restoration), completed this exterior house painting in Remuera on a 1920 bungalow, taking it from faded, peeling paint to a Foggy Grey, Alabaster and Nero exterior with a preparation-first system built to recoat every 7 to 10 years.
Done right the first time.
Close-up of the repainted weatherboards and door trim on the Remuera bungalow
Close-up of the corner post and window joinery after the repaint on the Remuera bungalow
Frequently Asked Questions
Service area
Exterior house painting in Remuera and nearby suburbs
The House Painters provide premium exterior house painting services across Auckland’s central and eastern suburbs. From Remuera to St Heliers, The House Painters work in Epsom, Parnell, Mission Bay, Greenlane and Newmarket. Contact The House Painters to organise a free exterior painting inspection.
Nearby case studies: Remuera, Epsom, Parnell, Devonport, Bayswater, Hauraki Corner, Takapuna, Northcote
Ready to Restore Your Home's Street Appeal?
Whether you are restoring a Remuera bungalow after years of deferred maintenance or planning a new exterior colour scheme, The House Painters bring the same preparation-first approach to every job. Contact The House Painters to organise a free exterior inspection.
Ready to Start Your Painting Project?
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