Do You Use Paint Or Stain On Cedar Siding

Both stain and paint protect your siding from moisture and sunlight but they differ in how much protection they offer.

Do you use paint or stain on cedar siding.

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. Apply stain before wood begins to weather. If you have intense sun on cedar wood siding you d be best served using a semi transparent stain not a paint. However in few cases for example on cedar siding there are many instances that you will always use stain instead of paint.

These may be applied to western red cedar by brush roller or pad. The best way to prevent extractive bleed is to select a paint or stain that forms a seal over the cedar. Staining cedar with a solid color stain solid color stains have solid particles but not nearly as many as paint. 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.

When putting up brand new cedar siding it is recommended that your first stain be oil based alklyd. There are two common types of finishing wood siding. What you get is a very uniform opaque color. Thus solid color stains let some of the cedar s grain show through but none of the color.

Use an oil based stain instead of latex. Oil based coatings also will yellow and fade faster. Work in the shade. Allow the washed surface to dry before recoating and apply primer paint to areas of bare wood.

Siding that has been primed and coated with two coats of paint can offer up. Two topcoats are always better over bare wood that has been primed. Second biggest factor is moisture. Apply stain to cedar siding before hanging.

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. Acrylic stain is far superior in all categories. 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. 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. Factory applied finishes of this type are available in most market areas where cedar siding is sold. Cedar shingles contain extractives that bleed to the surface when the wood becomes wet and then darken as the wood dries. Those extractives can even bleed through many types of paint.