As an experiment rub a clean white cloth across the unwashed siding.
How to prepare siding for exterior painting on hardiplank siding.
Acrylic paint is best suited for fiber cement stone and stucco exteriors.
Wash down the exterior surfaces every 6 to 12 months with a garden hose to remove dirt and debris gently clean your siding with a soft brush or wet soft cloth in a side to side motion in the direction of the plank siding.
After your surfaces are primed it is strongly encouraged to use acrylic exterior paint for your home.
Fill a paint sprayer with exterior acrylic paint.
Using the proper materials and paint for fiber cement or hardiplank siding a very good latex primer should be used to prepare the surface for paint.
A professional exterior painting expert will use a spray application for a smooth factory like finish.
Then make sure the coating is completely dry before applying the 2 nd coat.
But over the years your house will experience paint failure faster than if it were applied to clean siding.
All you should have to do is rinse your siding use a garden hose no pressure washers here to clean off any dust or dirt.
The cloth will likely come up dark gray with a layer of fine soot.
Don t paint in direct sun and add a paint additive like paint extender which will slow down the drying time and give the paint time to level out.
This step is a very important one.
Pressure wash entire exterior.
Paint applied to dirty siding will adhere in the short term.
If all dirt grime is not removed prior to painting the paint will not adhere correctly.
Here are the steps to prepare and paint your james hardie siding.
The siding must then be allowed to dry thoroughly before any caulking is begun.
Put on a mask and hold the spray gun about 1 foot from the siding.
Once all caulk is dry and your siding is clean you ll paint hardie plank with a high quality exterior grade acrylic latex.
Stir the paint with a paint stick to blend the color pigments.