You need to determine the condition of your piece first … Paint the cedar, covering all the wood with paint. The trick is the right shade. On flat-grained wood, the surface should be scuff-sanded with 50-60 grit sandpaper. Apply paint to the boards just as you did the primer. The use of water repellent and primer keep paint from fading on cedar wood for many years. Here are the do’s and don’ts of painting cedar siding. Allow the paint to dry and then determine if you need a second coat. Carefully choose what kind of sand paper you need for the job. Cedar wood is water resistant making it less susceptible to dry rot. Allow the wood to air-dry completely. Cedar fence planks image by K. Geijer from Fotolia.com. Choose the Correct Type of Paint For the Cedar. Test results from the Forest Products Testing Lab (run by the USDA for the Forest Service), show that after 12 weeks of exposure to sunlight, cedar siding has lost half of its ability to hold a film-forming coating system like primer and paint. Another test at an experimental facility in Madison, Wisconsin involved a sample section of red cedar siding that was pre-primed on all six sides (including the ends), top coated with two coats of paint, and placed in a frame. Whether you're a beginner or you're a regular do-it-yourselfer, our checklist will take your paint job from "good" to "amazing." In other words, most field tests that demonstrate the efficacy of painted cedar have been performed only on the two-part painting system of primer that is allowed to cure, followed by a separate coat of paint. Doing so will likely cover the mess but requires … Remove pollutants and remove failing paint. Prime with a quality primer, which, in this case will need to be oil to seal in the tannins from the cedar. Image credit: YouTube. Step 2. US Forest Service Products Laboratory. Use an exterior paint for outdoor cedar siding. With a cedar fence, you are going to have to prime the surface before you can start painting. It will shield the timber from moisture and weathering, but will completely conceal the wood’s colour and grain — so make sure to choose a wood paint of your desired colour. Shake the can of paint well. You can paint directly over previously painted cedar, but prime with a stain-blocking primer before painting over bare wood. The test section has never been re-coated and it shows no degradation of the coating system, though the test is over 25 years old.. Brush the Paint Rather Than Spray or Roll. She started writing in 1999 for private clients and began creating website content in 2004. Filling. A 100 per cent acrylic paint is best suited for cedar and can be applied by spraying, brushing or rolling onto the wood. The contrast between the … For refinishing, especially, hand-brushing is always preferred. Put on the disposable gloves, safety glasses and ventilator. Still, some homeowners may desire—or feel the need—for painting cedar siding. It is strongly recommended that you go with the two-coat system for protecting your cedar siding. So, oil-based primer followed by two topcoats of your favorite latex paint. Factors Effecting Paint Performance on Wood Siding. Sanding is an option on smooth face siding and commercial strippers/restorers are available to accomplish this task. Depending on the coverage, you might need to apply three coats. A durable and stable wood, cedar's uses include house siding and furniture. The primer provides a foundation for the paint. A 100 per cent acrylic paint is best suited for cedar and can be applied by spraying, brushing or rolling onto the wood. If the cedar is rough and/or rustic, go a bit more sleek on the floor with smooth, satin or matte finish slate or porcelain. With a porous material like cedar, the main idea is to apply a greater quantity of paint to the wood, and hand-brushing is the best way to accomplish this. Even wood that has been stained a dark color can be painted over using the proper tools and techniques. Western Red Cedar Export Association: Cedar Siding. Tips For Painting Cedar Siding. Allowing fresh siding to weather for as little as two weeks negatively affects coating adhesion. Tree sap on house siding creates a sticky, unattractive mess. But installed cedar siding that is painted on one to four sides can still provide excellent protection. All you’ll need to give your wood a new coat of paint is sand paper or a deglosser liquid, spackle, primer, and your favorite wood paint. Lighter colors last longer since they reflect light more efficiently than darker colors. Apply the first coat and let it dry for about 20 minutes. Apply a stain-block primer to the cedar. For many owners, painted cedar siding is a particular style; it is not all about protection. Choose an appropriate paint. If you go across the grain, you could ruin your timber surface. When using sand paper to remove paint, move up and down with the grain of the wood. Step 1. Use sandpaper, sanding blocks or an orbital sander depending on the size of your surface. And in all of those cases, it failed to start at the end grain where the siding abutted trim because the ends of the siding had not been primed. Paint without a primer applied to weathered wood will nearly always have adhesion difficulties. Resene Wood Primer is our only recommendation. Coat primed interior cedar with latex paint. How to Paint Cedar Wood. Although paint can reduce wood’s absorption of water, paint itself is not a preservative. Factory-applied finishes of this type are available in most market areas where cedar siding is sold. However, knotty cedar holds these primers well because most knotty cedar siding patterns have a textured or re-sawn face. US Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory, Solid-Color Stains on Western Redcedar and Redwood Siding. The WRCLA has not seen any test data on self-priming paints. After the wood or timber has dried, the next step would be filling all the fissures, cracks, … Use a paint scraper to remove any peelings or coatings, so that the paint will adhere to the surface of the cedar more easily.Remove any old caulking, as well, and replace it with new caulking. One benefit of installing cedar siding is the beauty of its natural finish. If you do, the coating system for red cedar siding with the longest expected service life is finished on all six sides with a stain-blocking primer and top coated with 100-percent exterior acrylic-latex paint. Allow the primer to dry before painting the wood. Treating Cedar With Primer and Paint. Step 5. Paint is your best option for treating cedar if your only intent is protection. Loosened (photodegraded) surface fibers, and any loosened remaining finish must be removed prior to re-finishing. Surface preparation is … Do not simply add additional caulking over old caulking, or it won’t seal properly. Heavy sand papers take the paint off, whereas a lighter grade sand paper creates a smooth surface that’s ideal for re-painting. Rinse the wood with a garden hose to remove any dust from the sanding. Allow the paint to dry and then determine if you need a second coat. Exterior grade acrylic-latex paint is the most dependable finish in terms of protecting cedar. Step 3. The siding must be free from mold, mildew, and dirt. • Cedar is easily painted and is an excellent substrate for paint (more so than pine for example) once painted repainting is straightforward the only real consideration is that any bare areas need to be spot primed with Resene Wood Primer rather than Resene Quick Dry. Lee has over two decades of hands-on experience remodeling, fixing, and improving homes, and has been providing home improvement advice for over 12 years. The problem is, many painting contractors do not approach painting cedar siding the right way. Wood oil is best used on cedar in its … Sand the surface of the wood. Allow for extra drying time during humid or wet weather. Go over the surface with a clean paintbrush and cedar wood oil. While extremely old cedar can be painted, it requires heavy preparation. The longer the siding was allowed to weather, the sooner the coating system failed. Go toward a warmer greige if … Read our, The Spruce uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Surface preparation is the key to success when dealing with weathered wood. By using The Spruce, you accept our, Choose the Correct Type of Paint For the Cedar, Brush the Paint Rather Than Spray or Roll, Choose the Optimal Window of Time For Painting Cedar, Be Careful When Painting Very Old Cedar Siding, Use a Two-Coat System Rather Than Self-Priming Paint, Paint and Primer in One: What to Know Before You Buy, The 10 Best Paints for Interior Walls of 2021, The Best Type of Paint for Kitchen Cabinets, Guide to the Type of Paint to Use for Which Room, How to Achieve Smooth Results When Painting Wood. This procedure will greatly increase the coatings performance but will not detract from a smooth finish. Dip a brush or roller into the water repellent solution and spread over the cedar. Introducing "One Thing": A New Video Series, Factors Effecting Paint Performance on Wood Siding, Solid-Color Stains on Western Redcedar and Redwood Siding. Do – Remove all failing paint off of previously painted cedar siding. Apply one coat of water repellent to the cedar wood. Paints of all types such as: water-based paints, acrylic (latex), acrylic enamel and solvent based paints (alkyd and oil-modified) are suitable for Western Red Cedar. Paint's solids ward off light, and light is the main contributor to the deterioration of cedar. If one chooses to spray the paint on the cedar, the best results will be achieved by back brushing the finish during application. Hand-brushing is recommended. Wipe the planks with a barely damp rag. Your typical exterior paints being 100% acrylic is not meant for cedar siding, where as a solid body paint stain is. We used semi-transparent white stain on our new cedar in our cabin and it brought out the beauty if the wood and the blemishes (water marks and such). 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. The use of water repellent and primer keep paint from fading on cedar wood for many years. Apply a second coat only after the first coat has dried properly. In many markets, like New England for example, painted siding is the preferred look. If your siding is already stained, painted, or treated with a water repellent, you must scrape off any of the coating before you can paint over it. Copyright 2021 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. Use a latex or an oil-based paint for indoor walls. Because of cell structure orientation, vertical grain cedar absorbs alkyd-oil stain-blocking primers better than flat grain cedar. For smooth-planed, flat-grained cedar, some surface preparation may be desirable. Wait 2 hours for the painted boards to dry. Use long, smooth strokes to reduce the risk of running paint. Allow the water repellent to dry completely before applying the primer. A durable and stable wood, cedar's uses include house siding and furniture. Constance Barker, located in the hills of southern Ohio, is the owner and writer of several financial, credit report and travel websites. You'll have to sand it first which shouldn't take much, I've been doing our old cabinets and it hasn't taken too long. Red cedar has a natural resistance to rot, decay, and insect attack. The ... Prime the Cedar Before You Paint It. Get it free when you sign up for our newsletter. Cedar has natural oils in it that come out periodically. Step 4. Even then, the paint is not expected to last long. Apply the paint and water repellent to cedar during favourable weather conditions, when no rain is forecast, to keep humidity at a minimum. The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Pour the paint into a paint pan and apply to a paint brush or roller. If you use water based primer it will wick the stains up through the primer and into the finish. Cedar is a highly resinous timber which is also why it is so durable and able to be left to weather uncoated.