Thursday, February 18, 2010

Before painting an old cedar shingled house that is badly peeling how should I remove the old paint peel?

Scraping seems that it would damage the shingles but power washing would wet the wood and cause future peeling wouldn't it?Before painting an old cedar shingled house that is badly peeling how should I remove the old paint peel?
I'm a Union Painter...I can answer this.No, power washing it wont hurt it. Do you worry when it rains? Don't...Cedar and water get along well. a lot of docks and piers are built in the water using cedar timber.


Power wash the house!! This will get all of the loose paint off and prevent you from having to use a wire brush and a scraper all day long.


Remember...preparation is 85% of painting..Painting is the easy part..It's the prep that counts!! Make sure you use a poly caulk to seal up any cracks and gaps. Have fun..this will take ya a good day or two to get the house ready to paint.


Remember..don't cut corners..You don't want your paint to peel again. Make sure you use a oil base primer to prime any bare spots.Before painting an old cedar shingled house that is badly peeling how should I remove the old paint peel?
A very high powered water sprayer and I'm sorry to say you will have to do some scraping or your new paint will peel right off.
DONT TOUCH ANYTHING - If your house is old you need to test for LEAD PAINT.





Lead was a popular additive for many years to help paint dry and withstand moisture until they found out how dangerous it was. Any home built before 1978 is at risk for lead paint.





ANY PROFESSIONAL WHO TELLS YOU ITS OK is out of their mind.


Lead is so dangerous that if you take a penny and break it into a MILLION pieces, 5 of those pieces is enough to poison a child.


Since it's a heavy metal it will fall to the ground and stay there. When you walk on it and go in the house, you track it in.





If it is not lead, by all means scrape and wash and do all those things.





If it IS lead, you can still repair your home, it's just gonna cost more and take extra precautions. You need to wet scrape the areas, spray with plain water keeping area you are scrapping wet to prevent airborne particles (wearing a good mask) and protective disposable clothing. Make sure to put down 6 mill poy sheeting(plastic) on the ground to catch everything, and carefully dispose of in those large plactic contractor bags. No eating or smoking while working, and wash thoroughly after every time you go out there.





The primer you should you use is called an encapsulant and it works like painting on plastic. Lead Block is the most common brand name but there are other good ones on the market, a little research will provide suppliers in your area. It goes on thick (14 mils wet) so it looks like mayo going on. This bonds to the paint and the raw surface and will keep everything in place. Since it's white, once applied and dried you can paint over it normally.


If this is too much, contact your local building department and find a lead abatement contractor in your area to do this.


Check and see if there are programs or grants you can get to help you with the costs of abatement/interim control.





Sorry to be a wet damper on your project, but better safe than sorry.





What does lead do? It makes you dumb. In extreme cases it causes death and birth defects. It accumulates in your bones and stays there, the only treatment is chelation and it (*%26amp;^(.
yes you could scrape the house and you could pressure wash the house but you would have to leave it dry for about a week before you could paint use the best primer you and afford to buy and the same with the paint are shingles rough cut you could ask a pro painted what they would do
I would recommend a good power washing first with plain water (real cedar can withstand water). Follow up with a wire brush to remove any clingers. ALLOW TO DRY THOROUGHLY BEFORE REPAINTING.





Good luck.
By using a power washer, they work great!!
if you power wash it, you wont be painting until the wood dries
Power wash. Wait until the wood is dry to oil-based prime and paint.
my husbands is a painter he said scraping frist easy then power wash it on soft spray in the sun warm day
If you don't get the old peelings off, and you paint over it, sooner or later it will peel again. A power wash is necessary. You can't wash and paint in the same day. After the house has dried in a few days then you can begin painting. Ask someone at Home Depot or Lowe's. They should be able to give you the best advice. Good luck!

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