Cleaning Wood Siding Before Painting

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.

Cleaning wood siding before painting.

Clean wood siding your home s exterior really takes a beating. 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. Clean the entire surface with soap and water or a pressure washer to remove any dirt and grime that s built up over time. Give it an occasional cleaning to brighten up its appearance get rid of mildew and prevent discoloration.

Stain bonds well to unpainted weathered wood. Spray tips are color coded and come in four patterns. If your siding is wood or vinyl set the pressure between 1000 and 2000 psi and when cleaning brick it should be even lower. If you plan to paint.

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. 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. Considering how hard and expensive it is to paint house exteriors it s a. Make sure to brush the wood clean working from the top down.

Primer helps paint stick and improves the coverage so you can dramatically change the color of the old wood if. Work a paint scraper from every direction keeping the blade flat against the wood so you don t create gouge marks. 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. Potential of siding damage water injected under siding or dirt remaining on house.

Before sanding scrape loose and flaking paint from the siding. Prepare the surface with old buildings such as my 130 year old barn water blasting the loose paint is not a recommended practice. There are ways to safely clean your house before painting using a pressure washer including using lower psi pressure washers widening the spray and standing at least two feet back. You want the absolute best adhesion surface for your paint.

So strong that it will peel old paint from a surface along with the stains tsp is often used for cleaning surfaces in the course of preparation for painting.