Cedar siding painting is a common occurrence in the Indianapolis area.  There are thousands of homes that are covered in cedar siding in and around Indianapolis.  Cedar siding can be one of the most resilient, beautiful materials that you can put on your home.  If you do it right, painting cedar siding can last for a long time.  The problem is, many painting contractors do not approach painting cedar siding the right way.

Here are the do’s and don’ts of painting cedar siding.

Do – Remove all failing paint off of previously painted cedar siding.  Cedar siding painting will only be successful if you have a clean slate.  Remove pollutants and remove failing paint.

Do Not – Allow peeling paint to remain on the cedar siding before painting.

Do – Prime the exposed wood, whether new or previously painted, with oil primer.  We like to use Sherwin Williams or Porter oil primers.

Do Not – Use water borne primers over exposed cedar siding.  Water borne primers cannot block the tannins in the cedar.  What that means is that you can put primer on the cedar siding, but brown stains will come through.  The only way to block the tannins in the cedar siding is to use an oil primer.

These are tannins from cedar wood leaking through a water based primer. You have to use oil primers on cedar siding.

So what are tannins when painting cedar siding?

Tannins are the juices, they are the sap, they are the liquid chemicals that leak out of some woods.  Tannins are found in cedar and redwoods amongst other species of wood.  Tannins normally leak out of knots in wood.  They cannot be covered up by water based primers.  It is very necessary to block these tannins by using an oil based primer.  You cannot paint over exposed cedar.  Tannins will bleed through the paint.

So I cannot use primer and paint in one systems on cedar siding?

Personally, I would never believe or use any product that advertises itself as primer and paint in one.  Absolutely, you do not want to use a primer and paint in one on cedar.  It will not turn out good.

When you need your cedar siding painted, in the Indianapolis area, consider a professional painting company that will do it the right way.  Consider a painting company that will not take shortcuts to get the job fast.  Consider Elite Pro Painting.

Elite Pro Painting is a full service painting contractor located in the Indianapolis area.  We serve Indianapolis and the surrounding suburbs.