Cleaning Wood Siding Before Painting

Stain bonds well to unpainted weathered wood.

Cleaning wood siding before painting.

Give it an occasional cleaning to brighten up its appearance get rid of mildew and prevent discoloration. Spray tips are color coded and come in four patterns. Potential of siding damage water injected under siding or dirt remaining on house. 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.

Caulk after you stain or prime. Clean the entire surface with soap and water or a pressure washer to remove any dirt and grime that s built up over time. If you plan to paint. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

Before sanding scrape loose and flaking paint from the siding. Make sure to brush the wood clean working from the top down. Considering how hard and expensive it is to paint house exteriors it s a. Work a paint scraper from every direction keeping the blade flat against the wood so you don t create gouge marks.

Before painting apply primer to the old wood surface whether it is indoors or out. You want the absolute best adhesion surface for your paint. If your siding is wood or vinyl set the pressure between 1000 and 2000 psi and when cleaning brick it should be even lower. The paint will go on just fine but by painting dirty siding you seriously shorten your paint s lifespan.

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.