Replies

1. 
   DanParis | May 29, 2004 04:54am | #1

   Hey, I forgot to add below: Before you power wash, first spray on a mixture of 4 parts water and 1 part bleach. That'll get rid of any mold, mildew and other organic stuff that will cause your paint and primer to fail. You can spray it on with a $15 garden chemical sprayer.

   A couple of questions, first:

   In what shape is the current paint? Is it well bonded or is it chalky (does it rub off easily when you rub your hands over it)? If it's chalky, that's not a problem: it just means that the paint has degraded and needs a good cleaning and primer before being repainted. If it's not and appears well bonded, that means it's held up well and should continue to do so with new paint.

   In either case, all it needs is a good power washing (rent a 2500 to 3000 psi unit and get instructions from your supplier), one coat of primer and two coats of paint. Don't skip the primer: it's what will keep your paint sticking to the siding for a long time. Ask your paint suppler what the best primer is: it's their paint so they'll want to ensure you're doing it properly in order to provide a warranty.

   If the house is over 10 years old and if there's a combination of exposed wood and old paint, they'll likely recommend an oil-based primer, and either an oil based paint or acrylic-latex paint. Whenever possible, use an acrylic latex paint, and if you can afford it, get a 100% acrylic latex paint, rather then a blend. It's more flexible than blended latex or oil based paints and will withstand freeze / thaw cycles more easily (i.e. it'll last longer).

   If the existing paint is flaking, alligatoring or peeling, there might be a moisture problem that's causing the paint to loose adhesion from the inside. If so, you'll have to find the source of the problem and fix it first.

   Assuming peeling or flaking, you'll need to scape all the loose paint off first before doing anything else. Then sand to 60 grit or 100 grit to round the edges of the remaining paint. If you're really, really ambitious, you could strip off all the old paint down to bare wood (or at least to a layer of paint that simply won't come off and is otherwise flat and smooth). This could be done with hand scrapers, a heat gun, a chemical strippers, a belt sander, or - and this isn't really recommended - a grinder with a 36 grit wheel for wood.

   Once you finish scraping, sanding and patching, then clean up with a power washer. Always work downward, pointing the spray head down so that you never force water up between cracks and gaps in the siding. Let the house dry adequately: I read a recent FHB article that siding can take as long as four to seven days to dry.

   Good luck.

   "Neverenoughtools"

   
   

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   Edited 5/29/2004 1:19 pm ET by Neverenoughtools

1. 
   edwardh1 | May 29, 2004 05:24am | #2

   or replank it with a Hardie product and be done

2. 
   davidmeiland | May 29, 2004 05:41am | #3

   Great post. I'm about to undertake a similar painting job and through some discussions with Benjamin Moore tech reps have decided to use their #100 oil primer and #103 low lustre.