Replies

1. 
   FastEddie | Oct 30, 2005 12:06am | #1

   I would blast it with a pressure washer, being careful not to etch the wood, then let it dry for several days, then spray the new stain.  Hope your neighbors don't mind a little overspray ...

    

    

   "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

2. 
   Piffin | Oct 30, 2005 01:13am | #2

   I hate what power washing does to wood siding. I have never seen it done but it damaged the wood fibes and left too much water in the wood and the walls so that the subsequent finish job was poor, uneven and n ot well adhered.

   Ed lives in a dry climate 2whereif he has a light touch, it might be possible that the siding can dry again.

   Is your siding flaking and dirty? Wire brushe and sandpaper can knock it down .
   After fifteen years, I imagine that there is barely any original stain left except on the north side or where well protected. There are other deck and siding wash products ( Flood has one) that will clean things up amazingly well with a scrub brush. Some are oxalates which will bleach the mildew stains gone too. All this without injecting water into the wood - only dealing with the surface wheere it will dry faster.

    

    

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1. 
   FastEddie | Oct 30, 2005 01:52am | #4

   Oops ... my fault.   I thought he was talking about cedar fence boards.  That's why I mentioned neighbors and overspray.  We don't know what cedar siding is down here.  Or snow loads and frost depths.

     

   "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

3. 
   Danno | Oct 30, 2005 01:52am | #3

   If I had had access to a sprayer, I would have used that on the house I stained this past summer. I think I would spray and maybe backbrush. As it was, the owner didn't want me to use a roller, but that worked the best to get the stain on the wood instead of on the ground, my ladder, my clothes and me, so I rolled it with a foam roller and then brushed over it to work it into cracks and such.

   I wouldn't use a pressure washer. I scrubbed the mildewed areas with a mixture of water, bleach and TSP.

4. 
   JourneymanCarpenterT | Nov 03, 2005 03:30am | #5

        I would also be weary of using a power washer.  Instead I would recommend washing with a solution of 3/4 water, 1/4 bleach, and then mixing in a cup of non-ammoniated detergent.  The solution needs to be rinsed off after washing.

        Once the siding has dried, you can sand it with a random orbit sander.  This is an optional step, but should provide a better finish.  If you like to sand, you can start with an 80 grit (be careful not to sand to much at this stage), then moving up to a  120 grit, and finishing off with a 220 grit.  A light sanding will also work if you don't have much time.

        Then  apply two coats, wet on wet, of a semi-transparent linseed or rosewood oil based stain.  Be careful not to put it on to thick.

        Probably the best way to apply the stain would be to either spray or roll it on and then follow it up with a natural bristle brush.  The brush will ensure a nice even coating.  When brushing, make sure you maintain a wet edge, and brush towards it and then back again.  This will keep lap marks from showing up when it dries.