Cedar Refinishing Advice Needed

sky jumper

I don't do much exterior painting, but I have a client with moderate to severe peeling on the south & west sides, with sections of bare cedar exposed. 23 year old home in northern illinois. peeling appears to be a recurring problem with this home as evidenced by many "spot" repair jobs.

client does not know when the house was last painted (just bought it). It appears several top coats have been applied over the original coating. I don't know the type of coatings, or if there is a primer coating.

My initial thoughts are :
1) completely strip S & W sides with chem strip & pressure wash.
- is there a better/safer alternative (mechanical stripper?)
- client may want to spot strip only to save $$, is this advisable?
2) apply a blocking oil based primer
3) finish with 2 coats solid latex stain

Given that we don't know the original base coat (primer, oil stain, latex stain) is there any risk that an oil primer will not stick? even if we do a complete strip? I'm unsure if an oil primer is compatible with the bare surface if latex stain was originally applied as the base coat.

Is there anything else I should be considering?

HomeGuard

congrats on your new place, hope you figure out how to paint it. Maybe a DIY site or call a local painting contractor.

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Milk was a bad choice

sky jumper

my house in my dreams. I couldn't afford the garage. if you must know I'm an out of work engineer trying to support my family anyway i can. i do mostly interior painting, drywall, framing, bathrooms, etc.

a family friend was gracious enough to give me this job, along with the bathrooms and interior paint - but i haven't painted a cedar exterior in over 10 years, and I've never seen one peeled this bad. I want to make sure I do it right. isn't that what this site is for?

if anyone has constructive advice I'd appreciate it.

Geoff MRT

First advice, NEVER pressure/power wash cedar. Aside from lifting the grain, you push mildew and bacteria further into the cedar, wash out what little tannin is still in there and the new paint will peel off even faster.

After you scrape it...manually, in a 2 gallon garden sprayer, mix 1 cup of bleach with a few ounces of TSP (trisodium phosphate) and fill to the top with water. (always add water TO chemicals, not the opposite)

Spray this concoction on to the stripped siding and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Mist it with a hose and scrub it with a brush (I use a boat brush with a telescoping handle) along the grain. Let it sit for a few minutes then hose it down. The water coming off the house will look like it came out of the sewer. Do small areas at a time so it doesn't dry out before you scrub it and you can keep track of where you've been.

After you're finished, spray it down with the same mixture again and rinse it off. Each house is different so you have to develop your technique. Let the house dry for a day or two then prime it with a tannin blocker-type primer. I believe there are some paints/stains out there formulated for woods with tannic acid.

Good luck and hang in there.

slickshift

Safest bet is to strip, oil-prime, two coats latex paint
Be careful working for family/friends
Many (I think most actually) of us Pros will be "too busy" and hand off or refer those types of jobs
They can quickly turn into job-from-hell nightmares...on so many levels...

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ModernStyle I have never used this crap before and I pray to the paint gods that I never have to use it again, I would rather use Behr

MakDeco

I use a slow drying oil on any cedar I have peeling and I am in northern IL too. I am hiring you have any real painting experience?

Top coat with acrylic solid color stain, what type of product on there now? Solid color or semi?

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MAK Deco