Sanding Cedar Siding Before Painting

I can assume there is instant dissent with the title of this story.

Sanding cedar siding before painting.

Use a thick brush when staining. Sand the cedar siding if it has a smooth finish. Use your paint scraper to remove any remaining peeling coating. Cleaning and sanding is the best way to prepare the cedar siding for a new finish.

Pound in any protruding nail heads. Work a paint scraper from every direction keeping the blade flat against the wood so you don t create gouge marks. Use 120 grit sandpaper to feather the edges of any sharp ridges of paint. Check the dry siding for any more loose coatings or ridges created by coatings that have been removed.

But there is good reason not to powerwash a wood sided exterior. There are ways to safely clean your house before painting using a pressure washer including using lower psi pressure washers widening the spray and standing at least two feet back. 1st cedar is a relatively soft wood. Cracks and holes in any surface collect water which causes paint to peel.

Whether it is white or red cedar or clapboard or even alaskan yellow cedar it is still wood has longitudinal pores running its length from butt to feathered edge on a shingle as well as on cedar clapboard. You can skip this if the cedar is textured. Test results from the forest products testing lab run by the usda for the forest service show that after 12 weeks of exposure to sunlight cedar siding has lost half of its ability to hold a film forming coating system like primer and paint. Like most wooden shingles however especially when painted they require care and maintenance over the course of time.

How to prep for painting cedar siding 1. Clean the cedar siding with a bucket of hot water and a few teaspoons of mild dish detergent. Before sanding scrape loose and flaking paint from the siding. You want the absolute best adhesion surface for your paint.

Filling cracks and holes with caulk in your home s trim and siding before painting not only makes the paint job look better but also makes the paint last longer. After you have washed it wait for it to dry before applying any stain to the cedar. Allowing fresh siding to weather for as little as two weeks negatively affects coating adhesion. Cedar shakes are cedar shingles that naturally weather and are resistant to decay.

Rinse the wood. The paint will begin to peel and the shingles may become stained and they will need to be repainted. Prepare your cedar siding by washing it with soapy water to remove any dirt or dust if any has accumulated. Potential of siding damage water injected under siding or dirt remaining on house.