The front of my house has what I believe to be cedar boards, about one inch thick and 6 inches wide, installed vertically, and overlapped about one inch per board on each edge. There are several layers of paint on these boards (looks like layers of latex as well as oil based) which all is in various stages of deterioration, just about to the point of needing to be totally (?) removed. The coarsness of the wood will not prevent total removal of the paint and certainly I don’t want the wood perfectly smooth. However, after removing what I can with a random orbit sander starting with 40 grit and probably finishing with 125 or so grit, what is the best paint I could apply (meaning oil or latex based) and can anyone recommend a brand? Actually, if anyone has a better idea on removing the paint, suggest that as well. Many thanks in advance.
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Listeners write in about haunted pipes and building-science tomes, and they ask questions about roof venting and roof leaks.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
sounds like a fun project :)
i would stick with a 60 grit sandpaper (i'm assuming this is siding we're talking about, not really clear for me). 120 would be pretty smooth and overkill in this situation.
the problem with sanding on re-paints is where to draw the line. you want to get the paint down to a sound surface, doing this without removing rough grain from cedar t&g may not be practical given time and effort.
if you want to maintain the natural look of the cedar, i would look toward chemical paint strippers (sloppy, nasty mess) or heat guns (slow) for removing the paint.
definitely go with oil on cedar, at least for primer. make sure it is an oil that can be applied over oil and latex. i would use zinsser 1-2-3, kilz, or similar. for the top coats you can use a latex if you want. the reason yuo want the oil is to block the tannins from the cedar.
Oil is the best primer. For cedar, I've had very good results with a linseed oil based primer from Muralo called X-200.
Don't know how it would work on vertical siding, but I have a 100 year old house with horzintal siding. Exposd to about 2 1/2 inches. I bought the paint shaver and it has done a wonderful job on my siding. After using the shaver I sanded with 60 and then 80 grit sandpaper. It turned out extremely well.
If your house is older than about 1977 there is a good chance that there is some paint that contains lead.
In many locales it is simply illegal to sand off with a random orbit as you describe, not to mention dangerous to you and everyone around you.
Test it first unless your house is after 1977 or so.
The Paint Shaver or the Metabo paint remover work well and have vacuum systems available but will be planing to a smooth surface.
Reprime with Cabot Problem Solver Alkyd Primer and topcoat with 2 coats latex.
Jeff
Edited 4/1/2008 11:38 pm ET by Jeff_Clarke