Best Way To Prep Wood Siding For Paint

Painting and stripping old wood siding overview.

Best way to prep wood siding for paint.

Be sure to remove any caulk where the siding overlaps as old houses need to breathe. Proper prep before painting will make the job last longer. If the wood grain has lifted after wood cleaning or if the wood appears furred use 120 grit sandpaper to smooth the surface. Wood cleaner can damage bare wood.

Feather sand the edges of sound well adhered paint down to bare wood. Sand rust from nail heads then set and caulk the nail holes. Tired of your paint job. Alkyd oil primers are recommended but one may choose a high quality latex primer as long as it contains stain blockers.

Using a good quality exterior wood primer will give your siding a solid base over which to apply your exterior paint. Work a paint scraper from every direction keeping the blade flat against the wood so you don t create gouge marks. Preparing exterior wood for painting isn t difficult but it does require some prep work to ensure that your new paint has a smooth stable surface to adhere to. Houses painted before 1978 may have paint that contains lead according to the centers for disease control cdc lead paint should be removed by contractors who are certified by the epa.

Use a brush when painting old siding. Check the label to be sure it s recommended for metal siding. Chemical strippers can be used to loosen paint from. You save time and money.

Before weathered wood can be painted it will require extensive prep work to ensure that the paint stays on for more than just a couple of years. The best way to get this siding clean is to power wash it. In the long run good paint preparation techniques add years to an exterior paint job including cleaning scraping filling caulking and priming. Prepare before you paint then get the right paint.

Prepare the surface with old buildings such as my 130 year old barn water blasting the loose paint is not a recommended practice. It saves you time and money in the long run. Use a molding scraper to remove paint from convex shapes. Clean the entire surface with soap and water or a pressure washer to remove any dirt and grime that s built up over time.

Or you could wash it by hand with tsp or a similar product available at home centers and paint stores and rinse it. Before sanding scrape loose and flaking paint from the siding. For best results fresh siding should be pre primed on all six sides with a stain blocking primer and top coated with 100 percent acrylic latex paint.