Is power washing acceptable? I’m going to be painting a porch whose supports are ladders of 2×2, with diagonal crossed 1x1s with round medallions at the crosses. Hand sanding would be a whole lot of work, so I’m thinking careful pressure washing might be the ticket.
Any tips on what to do, besides not blast it too hard?
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Some like it, but a lot of professionals are going to tell you not to use a power washer.
I had an old victorian done and had some raised grain on relatively new cedar siding. It was a mess. I wound up with an extra two days of prep on that piece of the wall. I would imagine that your assembly of 2x and 1x might suffer severely if too much pressure is used.
If this is important woodwork visually, I think I would get out the scrapers. If necessary, use scrapers that are molded to the profiles that you need, or maybe try heat to remove the old paint (Carefully!).
Good luck.
Don K.
EJG Homes Renovations - New construction - Rentals
What Don said.
Power washers can tear up the surface of wood. Especially when you are trying to get into the corners and connections. It will be a lot harder to control than on a flat surface like siding.
Scrape, wire brush carefully, sand, prime, paint.
Remember, the longevity of a job is directly proportional to the time spent in prep.
Power washing also drives a lot of moisture into the wood, and it can weeks or months to completely dry. The restoration pros say that when cleaning old siding or trim, never use water pressure higher than a simple garden hose.
Careful power washing is for cleaning a surface of dirt, etc. in preparation for paint.
Scraping is a separate part of prep.,IMO....buic
It isn't acceptabl;e to me - it might be to some...
Power washing damages the wood fibre if it is turned high enough to descale paint. It also drives water into the wood so that you have to let it dry for anywhere from three days to three weeks before it can be apinted. Then, the surface is damaged again by UV rays and needs sanding anyways.
A quick licht cleaning spray before doing all the scraping and sanding may help a little on some situations though.
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Nothing wrong with power washing if that's what you're doing--washing. If you're trying to remove aged paint too much water will be driven into the wood.
I'd use TSP or a substitute to clean everything with brush and by hand and then use the pressure washer to wash it all from a distance. If what you're painting over is sound--no chipping, peeling or alligatoring, the TSP will etch the surface enough to ready you for new primer or whatever... THe pressure washer should only be used to clean the house not 'scrape' it.
FHB recently had an article titled "No Escaping the Scraping" which outlined a lot of good prep procedures.
Pat