Painting Exterior Cedar Siding

It is not all about protection.

Painting exterior cedar siding.

Do remove all failing paint off of previously painted cedar siding. Certain areas are peeling and lifting and the color has faded. Cedar siding painting will only be successful if you have a clean slate. Exterior grade acrylic latex paint is the most dependable finish in terms of protecting cedar.

The type of finish selected is driven by style preference. Choose the correct type of paint for the cedar. The problem is many painting contractors do not approach painting cedar siding the right way. For many owners painted cedar siding is a particular style.

But over time the elements have taken their toll and the finish is starting to look weathered. You will need approximately 1 gallon of each paint and primer for every 400 square feet. Choose your primer based on what the paint manufacturer recommends to use. First painting freshly milled cedar requires a paint stain unless a 100 acrylic exterior primer is used first thereby allowing a 100 solid acrylic paint to be used as final finish coats.

The best choice of paint to use for cedar wood is urethane acrylic house paint. Remove pollutants and remove failing paint. The key to a successful application of paint is surface preparation. If you do not intend on priming brand new cedar or redwood for that matter a high quality stain paint should be used as 50 of volume soaks into the wood other 50 is left on top as a dried paint mil.