In order to paint render you will first need to clean it to make sure that no small chunks of render get stuck in your roller. You can do this by sweeping the render with an old broom, or by simply hosing it down briefly.
Before painting the render, your work area will first need to be prepared accordingly.
You will need to lay dropsheets down on areas where paint can fall such as pavement or windows. Dropsheets can be bought from your local hardware store for next to nothing, so they are definately a good investment.
Tape the dropsheets down to make sure that they don't move around, and when walking on them or placing ladders on them, try to avoid tearing or damaging them as you will end up with plenty of lovely little paint smudges spotted around when you remove the dropsheets.
Things like window edges and ceilings will need to be taped up to ensure that no paint ends up where you don't want it to be. Make sure that you do this carefully, and keep the tape in a perfectly straight line to ensure an excellent finish.
Before you paint the render, make sure that it is properly dried. If it is not, this could cause problems both immediately and later on down the track such as peeling, cracking and bubbling. When you pour your paint into the paint tray, it is important to make sure that you don't over fill it. This is because you will probably end up applying the paint too thick, which can cause the paint to crack or peel over time. You're much better off applying two thin coats than one thick one. Make sure that the roller is firmly pressed against the tray and roll it to squeeze out excess paint. Press the roller firmly against the render as you roll, to help squeeze the paint into the tiny holes and bumps. Use a paint brush to touch up the areas that are too hard to get to with the roller. Once you have finished, allow sufficient time for the paint to dry and repeat the whole process. When removing masking tape, make sure you wait until the paint is completely dry as the paint can peel off with the tape. If you get too excited and remove the tape too early, you will probably need to go along and fix it with a touch up brush.
