Clean Wood Siding Before Painting

Make sure to brush the wood clean working from the top down.

Clean wood siding before painting.

Work a paint scraper from every direction keeping the blade flat against the wood so you don t create gouge marks. Clean the entire surface with soap and water or a pressure washer to remove any dirt and grime that s built up over time. You want the absolute best adhesion surface for your paint. Caulk after you stain or prime.

Here are tips for battling mildew stains and ridding your home of the chalky dust. If you plan to paint. Stain bonds well to unpainted weathered wood. Clean wood siding your home s exterior really takes a beating.

The paint will go on just fine but by painting dirty siding you seriously shorten your paint s lifespan. 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. 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. Most of the time cleaning is straightforward but some circumstances like mold and mildew and chalky residue might require some special treatment.

Give it an occasional cleaning to brighten up its appearance get rid of mildew and prevent discoloration. Potential of siding damage water injected under siding or dirt remaining on house. Prepare the surface with old buildings such as my 130 year old barn water blasting the loose paint is not a recommended practice. Diluted in water and applied often with a stiff scrub brush it can.

Before painting apply primer to the old wood surface whether it is indoors or out. Although paint manufacturers might lead you to believe that the world will end if you don t clean the siding before painting the reality is not quite that dire. 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. Preparing your home s exterior before you paint is essential.

A brown gray or black stain on siding or. If you plan to paint or use a solid color stain set any nails that the carpenters missed below the surface and fill the nail holes with caulk. Considering how hard and expensive it is to paint house exteriors it s a. Before sanding scrape loose and flaking paint from the siding.