Cleaning Cedar Siding Before Painting

This prevents dirt from streaking downward on the siding.

Cleaning cedar siding before painting.

Use a paint scraper to remove any peelings or coatings so that the paint will adhere to the surface of the cedar more easily. Department of agriculture s forest services laboratory recommends cleaning cedar shingles with an oxidizing bleach as opposed to a household bleach to avoid damaging the wood. While you can use household bleach to kill mold and algae it tends to make the cedar shingle s surface fuzzy because of the excessive pulping reaction when using it. Avoid using a bristle brush as this can scratch the painted surface.

If you decide to paint your cedar siding you ll need to clean it thoroughly to remove as much dirt and residue as possible. 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. Allowing fresh siding to weather for as little as two weeks negatively affects coating adhesion. The following outline is intended to prepare you before buying any such products knowing exactly which type fits your final outcome.

Try mixing up fresh tsp water solution again and re scrubbing it. Leave it on longer than 30 minutes if needed. When all sections are done spray the entire house side once again. Use a scraper to remove loose paint from the siding working from every direction.

Think your siding is already clean. 7 tips painting or staining cedar wood siding walking into a paint store can be overwhelming trying to decide which paint or stain coating you wish to provide your exterior cedar wood and siding as there are many varieties. Get rid of that grunge by cleaning your cedar siding with an oxygen bleach and choosing a protectant that doesn t feed future mold growth. Check the cleaner every 15 minutes.

Let the cleaner sit on the cedar siding for 15 to 30 minutes. Scrub the siding with a long handled squeegee. The full strength solution should be strong enough to break down and remove failing coatings from the siding. Before sanding scrape loose and flaking paint from the siding.

You ll also need to seal and prime the wood to provide a surface that. Let dry by itself at least 24 48 hours before painting. Keep the cleaner wet to ensure its effectiveness. Mist it with water if the cleaner starts to dry.

Pound in any protruding nail heads. Scrub upward starting at the bottom of the cedar siding. Move on to the next section below that one. 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.

Work a paint scraper from every direction keeping the blade flat against the wood so you don t create gouge marks.