Painting Old Cedar Siding

Be careful when painting very old cedar siding.

Painting old cedar siding.

Surface preparation is the key to success when dealing with weathered wood. Use a paint scraper to remove any peelings or coatings so that the paint will adhere to the surface of the cedar more easily. No matter which paint or sealer product you are leaning towards using working with seasoned older cedar wood and siding it is imperative to remove all the old flaking paint or if stained removing all the old dried top layer of wood off by power washing. In refinishing painted or solid color stained siding and trim removal of the old coating may be required.

Apply the wood cleaner to the cedar siding using a paint brush or roller. This is necessary if for example the old finish is severely cracked or is peeling. Here are the do s and don ts of painting cedar siding. Reach the high areas or apply cleaner to the less dirty areas using a roller with an extension pole which doesn t allow you to apply as much pressure or elbow grease as a paint brush.

Step 4 let the cleaner sit on the cedar siding for 15 to 30 minutes. While extremely old cedar can be painted it requires heavy preparation. The problem is many painting contractors do not approach painting cedar siding the right way. Learn how to paint your cedar siding with this guide.

Exterior western red cedar surfaces only need to be refinished when the old coating has worn thin and no longer affords the wood protection. Even then the paint is not expected to last long. Unfinished siding exposed to several weeks of sunlight before painting needs to be sanded. If your siding is already stained painted or treated with a water repellent you must scrape off any of the coatings before you can paint over it.

If you do it right painting cedar siding can last for a long time. Remove old paints and caulking. Basic maintenance repair and painting of cedar wood siding using gardner flex n fill and behr premium plus exterior paint. Loosened photodegraded surface fibers and any loosened remaining finish must be removed prior to re finishing.

Sunlight degrades the unfinished wood surface thus it will never hold paint as well as fresh wood. Cedar siding can be one of the most resilient beautiful materials that you can put on your home. Do remove all failing paint off of previously painted cedar siding. The first application of primer was absorbed immediately into the wood but the second application of primer did a fantastic job of covering the weathered siding.

The two applications of primer were followed with two coats of high quality exterior latex paint for a clean smooth finish. Cedar siding painting will only be successful if you have a clean slate.