Cedar siding

[dr3131]

I just bought a cabin in Northern Michigan that has Cedar siding. The outside is very dirty (black). I have heard that using a bleach solution will clean this up so I can stain it.
I was planning on rolling on a bleach solution then powerwashing it off.
Then I was going to use an oil based stain. Does that sound like a good plan?
Thanks

 

[RSKY]

I have cedar siding on my house also. Just finished repainting a couple of week ago. Before painting I always wash the house to remove mildew and dirt. This is the procedure that I used.

First get a cheap pump up sprayer for your cleaning mixture. I got mine at a local Tru-Value store for $11.00. It holds about a gallon and a half. I also purchased a long handled brush, five gallons of clorox, and a box of TSP. TSP is tri-sodium-phosphate, a non sudsing detergent, and is located in the paint supplies. I also had my electric power washer but a hose with high pressure spray will work, just not as quick.

Mix the cleaning solution in the pump up sprayer with one half cup of TSP, three cups of clorox, and fill the remainder with hot water. The solution can be varied stronger or weaker depending on the stains.

Pump up the sprayer and soak the siding, let it set for about two or three minutes but do not let it dry. Then spray or hose it off. Repeat as necessary until siding is clean. If the stains are particularly bad scrub them with the brush. I wasted my money on the brush, only used it twice on the south side of the house. Also, the cleaning mixture is deadly to wasps. Or at least it stuns them enough you can step on them when they fall to the ground.

After I had cleaned my house it looked so much better that I would have put off painting for another year, but had already bought the paint. Which leads me to another story.

I have always used, and hated, a Wagner Power Painter to paint my house. This time I decided to brush and roll the paint on. The problem was that though the final color was much darker, when wet the new paint was the same color as the old. So after applying the first coat to the front we found many small places we had missed. I knew you can't spray latex in a regular siphon type sprayer but Sears had one with a pressurized can. Once I figured out how much to thin the latex it did a great job on the house, shop, and other buildings. I thinned it with two cups of water per gallon of paint.

I have used this cleaning formula for 20+ years and five paintings of my house.

Hope this helps.

Randy

 

[sugarmaker]

I've done pretty much the same as Randy on our cedar. His description is excellent; I can only add a couple of things:

1) Use Clorox brand bleach; don't substitute. Also use freshly-bought, freshly-opened bottles.
2) The TSP-Clorox "witch's brew" that kills Randy's wasps will also do a job on your wife's roses and shrubs. Hose down and tarp in advance any plants you don't want to kill.
3) A pressure washer is not the best tool for this job; it's very easy to damage the siding with the spray. If you must use one, point the nozzle away from the house when you pull the trigger, then direct the spray towards the house. It seems there's a very high-pressure burst when you first pull the trigger that does the most damage.
4) Don't set your witch's brew bucket directly on your deck or concrete patio; use a scrap piece of plywood or such. You'll get ring stains that will last forever.
5) Wear latex or rubber gloves unless you like smelling Clorox for the next few days.

Good luck!

 

[dr3131]

Here is a picture of the siding. It is really bad.
Did either of you ever stain cedar rather than paint it?
Thanks for the great advice

 

[dr3131]

here is a close up

 

[Old_Hickory]

That can be cleaned off with a pressure washer about 1000 to 2000 psi and a 45 degree angle tip on your wand.

 

[sugarmaker]

I use a clear sealer on mine. It's TWP by Amteco. There are a variety of shades in this line; I use 101 or 501 which is essentially no shading at all.

I've found I can get about 7 years between reapplications of this product.

 

[dr3131]

Sugar
Do you buy the product online or can you buy it in a store. With the amount of "damage" to the cedar do you think this product will work? I am looking for a lighter finish.
Thanks

 

[beenthere]

Follow the good advice of RSKY, as he has a good mixture that will kill the mildew (that is what the dark color black is on your siding) and get the siding as clean as it can be done. You can use the power washer and blow the surface wood away to get down below the mildewed surface too, but that leaves a lot of torn fibers of wood on the surface. Re bleach the areas that don't come clean the first time. Decks can be cleaned up the same way.

Finish - I'd recommend a semi-transparent stain rather than any kind of paint. The stain soaks into the wood, and isn't a film-forming finish that can flake or peel off later. Also, refinishing is much easier in the future with the semi-transparent (non film-forming) stain.

I'd move the propane tank so it doesn't cause the water from the roof to splash on the siding (or put eaves troughs on) and help avoid the mildew happening behind the tank.

A light bleach wash annually or every other year would help keep the mildew (mold) away from your siding, and keep it looking better, longer.

 

[DocHeb]

Use a good wood preservative to coat the end-grain at the bottom of the boards. Water runs down the boards and is soaked up into the boards, increasing the likelihood of rot starting there. Make sure it is a preservative compatible with the stain/coating that you're using.