How To Paint New Cedar Siding

With new cedar wood siding starting from scratch as in an artisan s canvas this surface area should be cleaned and dried.

How to paint new cedar siding.

Do not however use a power washer because cedar can t withstand the pressure. To refinish the old surface first scrape away all loose cracked or peeling finish. 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. 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.

With a porous material like cedar the main idea is to apply a greater quantity of paint to the wood and hand brushing is the best way to accomplish this. Stains dry rapidly and fresh stain applied over dried stain will show lap marks. The upside is that solid color stains will block most damaging ultraviolet light. Cedar siding painting will only be successful if you have a clean slate.

If possible stain all sides of the siding before installation. Choose a paint and primer. Do prime the exposed wood whether new or previously painted with oil primer. When painting or staining new cedar.

Staining cedar with a solid color stain. Step 4 let the cleaner sit on the cedar siding for 15 to 30 minutes. 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. Staining cedar siding differs from application of paint and other finishes.

Apply the wood cleaner to the cedar siding using a paint brush or roller. Using a stiff bristled brush scrub the siding. Once done let the wood dry completely for approximately two weeks. Although there are a few acrylic primers on the market capable of blocking tannin bleed thru you really can t go wrong with the oil primer in it s stead.

What you get is a very uniform opaque color. Remove pollutants and remove failing paint. Thus solid color stains let some of the cedar s grain show through but none of the color. Apply one even thorough coat of water repellant preservative to the cedar siding with a paint brush or roller.

Do not allow peeling paint to remain on the cedar siding before painting. Make sure that you wait no more than 12 weeks. Solid color stains have solid particles but not nearly as many as paint. First remove any mill glaze a hard shiny surface on one side of the siding by sanding.

Sand the bare wood and any remaining finish to feather the edges smooth with the bare wood. Choose the optimal window of time for painting cedar it is recommended that you paint within two weeks of installing the cedar.