Stripping Cypress Clapboard – Seal as I go?
I am currently engaged in the rather arduous task of stripping all the paint off the original cypress clapboard siding on my 1910 house in Houston. I have a couple helpers, but expect that, given my schedule and the effort involved (4 layers of paint, lots of 7′ tall windows) and other miscellaneous repair work that is needed, it will be at least a month before painting can begin.
I’m using a “Silent Paint Remover” infared heater to help strip the siding. I know that this helps extract moisture out of the wood.
As I strip a section, should I use a wood sealer on that area to help protect that area/lock out moisture, or would I be OK with some areas exposed up to a month before painting? Furthermore, should a sealer be used regardless before priming?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Replies
The way I work, I'd seal every few days. Somehow a month has a way of turning into 6.
How do you like the silent paint remover anyway? I've read about them but haven't tried one.
Well, not to hijack my own thread, but it has definitely been worthwhile, though not a miracle worker by any means.
On my house, with four layers of paint on cypress siding with 4 1/4" of reveal, it will usually "bubble up" about 60% of the center 3" of each board. What "bubbles up" can be instantly scraped off as the paint is totally released from the siding. What is left is definitely easier to scrape off than it would have been without the application of heat, but it still takes a fair amount of scraping. However, even with direct applicatoin of the heat to the edges of the clapboard, the paint doesn't lift off like it does in the center of the boards.
I also pulled about 700 ft of identical cypress clapboards off a bungalow that was unfortunately getting bulldozed. That siding had 2 layers of paint on it and the second coat was probably from the 1960s. I laid the siding down flat on a large table and "pulled" it underneath the silent paint remover, scraping about 10" at a time. With that siding, the paint really came off quickly - like it does in their video.
I'm about 40% through the job, and I honestly don't think it would be feasible from a time perspective to scrape down the house without the silent paint remover, but, again, there has still been a lot elbow grease required.
One other big advantage of using is that there is very little dust generated. I place landscape fabric under the area I'm scraping and it catches nearly all of the chips.
I'd prime with a quality alkyd primer as I go. UV can damage wood enough to cause adhesion problems in as little as a month. But you could strip the entire house then prime and paint if you sand the siding right before painting.
As far as stripping, some paint seems a lot more heat resistant than others. Also, I'd sand after stripping and scraping to remove the residue. Probably a quick pass with 80 grit on a pad sander would greatly improve the job.