Do You Use Paint Or Stain On Cedar Siding

Two topcoats are always better over bare wood that has been primed.

Do you use paint or stain on cedar siding.

When putting up brand new cedar siding it is recommended that your first stain be oil based alklyd. What you get is a very uniform opaque color. Semi transparent stains require more maintenance with an additional application in between keeping wood protected than does a solid stain paint lasting typically 5 7 years. Anyway this doesn t matter much no painter would recommend using an oil based solid stain for cedar siding these days unless he was a total idiot.

First painting freshly milled cedar requires a paint stain unless a 100 acrylic exterior primer is used first thereby allowing a 100 solid acrylic paint to be used as final finish coats. Allow the washed surface to dry before recoating and apply primer paint to areas of bare wood. These may be applied to western red cedar by brush roller or pad. Work in the shade.

If you have intense sun on cedar wood siding you d be best served using a semi transparent stain not a paint. There are two common types of finishing wood siding. Those extractives can even bleed through many types of paint. Siding that has been primed and coated with two coats of paint can offer up.

After the primer has dried apply one or two topcoats of paint or solid color stain. Use an oil based stain instead of latex. Thus solid color stains let some of the cedar s grain show through but none of the color. According to paul mackie at the western red cedar lumber association wrcla red cedar siding that has been finished on all six sides with a stain blocking primer and top coated with 100 percent exterior acrylic latex paint has the longest expected service life of any coating system.

Factory applied finishes of this type are available in most market areas where cedar siding is sold. Second biggest factor is moisture. Apply stain before wood begins to weather. Mold mildew algae etc prefer to grow on the surface of an oil based coating over a latex one.

The best way to prevent extractive bleed is to select a paint or stain that forms a seal over the cedar. Therefore you need to apply perfect finishing coats on cedar siding. Cedar siding shingles provide beauty for any home but they must be properly coated to ensure a long life. Cedar shingles contain extractives that bleed to the surface when the wood becomes wet and then darken as the wood dries.

Oil based coatings also will yellow and fade faster. However in few cases for example on cedar siding there are many instances that you will always use stain instead of paint. Staining cedar with a solid color stain solid color stains have solid particles but not nearly as many as paint. Apply stain to cedar siding before hanging.