Painting New Cedar Siding

The siding must be free from mold mildew and dirt.

Painting new cedar siding.

We like to use sherwin williams or porter oil primers. When painting or staining new cedar. Loosened photodegraded surface fibers and any loosened remaining finish must be removed prior to re finishing. If possible stain all sides of the siding before installation.

The paint will stick best if it dries slowly at a temperature of about 70 degrees f on a cloudy day. It s available in a variety of shades and it works well with paint or stain because of its lack of pitch and resin. Once you ve painted and primed your cedar siding maintain your cedar exterior s new look by using a hose to remove dirt once in a while. Do prime the exposed wood whether new or previously painted with oil primer.

To refinish the old surface first scrape away all loose cracked or peeling finish. Do not use water borne primers over exposed cedar siding. Staining cedar siding differs from application of paint and other finishes. Surface preparation is the key to success when dealing with weathered wood.

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. Unfortunately many of the structures that were built with cedar siding in the last twenty years were sided with inferior wood. The use of inferior types of siding and trim is usually a result of trying to cut corners to build at the lowest possible costs. Brand new cedar wood and cedar siding freshly milled could have a moisture content too high accepting much of the product coatings your attempting to use.

Water borne primers cannot block the tannins in the cedar. Step 4 let the cleaner sit on the cedar siding for 15 to 30 minutes. Be careful when painting very old cedar siding. Do not allow peeling paint to remain on the cedar siding before painting.

With new cedar wood siding starting from scratch as in an artisan s canvas this surface area should be cleaned and dried. The only way to block the tannins in the cedar siding is to. Stains dry rapidly and fresh stain applied over dried stain will show lap marks. If the paint starts peeling or blistering it s time to repeat this project.

Cedar resists decay and can last for decades when properly maintained. Sand the bare wood and any remaining finish to feather the edges smooth with the bare wood. Mildew must be killed and removed before western red cedar is refinished or the mildew will grow through the new paint coat or solid color stain. First remove any mill glaze a hard shiny surface on one side of the siding by sanding.

While extremely old cedar can be painted it requires heavy preparation. Paint or stain dimensional cedar wood siding having cedar lumber wood siding such as 1 x 6 1 x 8 1 x 12 or two inch thickness can be painted with a solid paint stain not requiring primer but still not recommended painting cedar if you can help it. Even then the paint is not expected to last long.