Cedar Siding Restoration

[Guest tmboss]

I have started the process of refinishing the front of my house (attached single garage) which has cedar siding and about 9 years of unattended Cetol 1 Natural finish. After experimenting with a 1600 PSI Pressure sprayer on my deck and fence (peach fuzz), I decided that that sanding was the way to go. I bought a Black and Decker Dragster belt sander (nice to get in the tight spots) and sanded the front of the garage part. I got all excited and applied Cetol 1 Cedar right after I finished vacuuming the dust off. VERY DISSAPPOINTED!!! The parts that were nice (below soffit) was OK but the lower area was black. It looks like I stained over dirt. I guess I did as I now sanded the side of the garage and paid more attention to the condition of the wood before staining. It has a grey weathered / mildew look to the areas that were exposed to rain. So I used Behr's Cleaner / Brightner to clean it up with a bit of scrubbing. Appeared to be OK but noticed it greyed again after last nights rain. I bought Behr's Cleaner product and plan to try that next.

I plan to continue to sand the remaining walls and experiment on that one wall until I get it right before proceeding. Then I have to return to front of the garage again to resand / refinish again.

What process should I have done? Am I on the right track now?

Does anyone have pictures or experience with Sikkens Cetol 1+23 in Natural Light? Shy of dark colors after seeing the front of my garage the first time/coat!

Terry

Winnipeg, MB

Canada

[Russell Cissell 65]

Terry-

You've taken on a job that few homeowners could hope to get right. Most professional restoration contractors will spend a few years on decks and fences learning the process before they move on to cedar siding.

It would be impossible for anyone to attempt to cover what you need to know in a single thread in this forum. It would also show negligence however if someone didn't at least step up and give you a few warnings.

First when cleaning wood with a pressure washer you should never go over about 1,200 psi.

Next when sanding wood with a high speed sander like a belt sander you are creating heat that will draw the natural sugars of the wood to the surface. This will have an adverse effect on the penetration of your finish.

If you want your surface to look even you will have to follow all of the substrate preparation steps. Staining is not like painting. It is not enough to have the surface clean.

You might think about hiring a professional for this one. If you would like, give me a call at 1-866-536-7393 or 636-288-8512 and I help you as much as possible or direct you to a pro in your area.

Best of Luck

Russell

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Terry, it would also help us if you could post some photos of the siding.

You should take Russell up on his offer and call him. He knows more about wood than most do out there, and if I recall correctly, cedar is his favorite wood.

Beth

[Guest tmboss]

Here are some links to photos before I started. I will update with new "work in progress" on weekend when sun hits that side in morning. Below these are the Behr products I bought. I'd buy those Timber products if available in Winnipeg.

http://www.bosstech.biz/cedarhouse/Boss1117.JPG

http://www.bosstech.biz/cedarhouse/Boss1118.JPG

http://www.bosstech.biz/cedarhouse/Boss1119.JPG

http://www.bosstech.biz/cedarhouse/Boss1120.JPG

http://www.bosstech.biz/cedarhouse/Boss1121.JPG

No. 62 Multi-Surface Deck-Prep™ Cleaner & Mildew Stain Remover

SECTION 2: COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTSProduct No. 62Chemical NameCAS#Lower PercentUpper PercentSodium hypochlorite7681-52-937Non-hazardous ingredients60100

No. 63 Wood Cleaner Brightener Conditioner

SECTION 2: COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTSProduct No. 063Chemical NameCAS#Lower PercentUpper PercentOxalic acid144-62-7510Non-hazardous ingredients3060Thanks

[Dale 16]

Just my 2 cents but...stop sanding. You'll never be able to maintain an evenly flat plane and wherever you have to sand across the grain..like up where the wall meets the soffit..or any detail area for that matter, will show when you stain it. You can get away with it on a deck, but on verticle areas where you can sight across a lighted area, it may not look so good.

Have it chemically stripped and do a light detail sanding /defelting....lose the belt sander.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Have it chemically stripped and do a light detail sanding /defelting....lose the belt sander.

I agree this is the way to go for an even application, however you do have some fairly intact sealer there, not alot of failure overall. Vertical surfaces are more challenging to strip than horizontals are. You may want to think about hiring a pro for this, or at least to strip the house and prep it, then you could seal it if you wanted to. Problem is, if you have not done something like this before, it may be difficult to get an even application on the wood. It really depends on how handy you are as to what you'll be able to accomplish. We have seen homeowners do a respectable job, and we have seen them make horrific mistakes. Research is the key, but for one person doing this you will need 4 times the amount of time it takes to do this as well, since you are new to it.

You could have some sections ( you should do this in full sections I think) stripped and some just washed, but the problem would be that when you seal it, the results will not match. You'll have a coat of aged product, and a coat of fresh. This means some areas will be darker than others.

One thing I will say, is to move the mulch and flowers out a good two feet from foundation or past where the roofline extends. If you notice the splash up zone next to the ground at the bottom of the cedar boards, that's where I mean... take out some of the mulch and a little dirt, and add stones and a french drain. This should help to reduce the splash up and lower level mildew growth.

Hope some of this helps.

Beth :cup: