One of the biggest DIY projects that a homeowner can take on is painting the exterior of their home. There are multiple options for exterior painting including hiring a professional painter or going the do-it-yourself route. We chose the DIY option to save money and this post will walk you through our process of prepping for paint and the best paint for cedar siding.
We are not quite sure when this house had the last paint job with the light blue paint, we have been living here since 2016 so we think it was several years before then and we know that it was just an over spray of paint and that we would have a lot of prep work ahead of us.
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience, this means that if you click on a link and end up making a purchase I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. See my full disclosure and privacy policy for more information.
Supplies Used Painting on Cedar Siding
- power washer
- house paint scraper
- tape-we used tape specific for rough surfaces
- plastic sheeting
- oil-based primer-we used Kilz
- Sherwin-Williams Exterior Acrylic Latex Paint
- Airless Paint Sprayer
Our entire house is done in cedar shake siding. There are several advantages and disadvantages to having cedar siding. Some of the advantages are that it is that it can be painted or stained pretty easily, is renewable and bio-degradable and resists swelling and warping due to moisture. Some of the cons of cedar shakes is that it is the most expensive siding when comparing vinyl and fiber cement, is more susceptible to rot, mold and mildew and requires frequent repainting or staining.
Because we had a lot of peeling paint we knew that we would need to do a lot of prep before paint could be applied. This started with pressure washing all surfaces of the house which helped loosen some of the paint. After this was done it was time to go in with scrapers to help loosen paint to peel off all the chunks that we could to get down to raw wood.
When looking to choose the best paint for cedar siding we decided to go with Sherwin-Williams, they are the preferred paint of contractors we have used and have great reviews and great coverage. Their paints are not the most expensive but not the least expensive either. The type of paint we used was the Emerald Exterior Grade Acrylic-Latex Paint and we chose a flat finish.
The paint experts at Sherwin-Williams were very helpful when we were choosing our paint type, they helped us choose the best exterior paint type that was in our budget. They helped us determine which paint would be the better option, provide the best protection for our home’s cedar siding and what would provide great results.
Our friend who is a contractor came by to give us some tips on re-painting. He mentioned that we would need to use an oil based primer before paint as cedar shakes have tannin in the wood that could leach into the paint so an oil based primer would protect the paint job. Because we knew that we would be using a large volume of primer we bought the 5-gallon Kilz primer, we ended up using three gallons of primer.
In addition to the tip about primer we were also told to use stainless steel nails because the wood could react with iron nails and rust easily.
Cedar shake shingles don’t always have to be painted, they can also be stained or sealed. When exposed to the weather the cedar shake shingles will take on a grey patina. This style on homes is popular on the Oregon Coast where the salt air and rain can be hard on homes.
We did choose several sample colors from Sherwin-Williams before choosing the color called Peppercorn. We had four different colors of paint, a brown, a light grey, a darker grey and a bluish grey and chose a test section near the garage to see how we liked the color. Justin, I and the kids all preferred the Peppercorn when it was painted on the house.
When starting to prep and paint we did sections of the house at a time, starting with the front porch and working our way clockwise around the house. We were blessed to have a couple neighbors in the area who let us borrow their airless paint sprayer and another who let us borrow their hydraulic lift so that we could easily reach the high points of the house.
After spraying the siding with the power washer and then peeling any loose paint it was time to use a scraper to get any paint that didn’t easily come off.
This was also the point that Justin changed out any of the wood cedar shingles that were damaged, rotting or missing with brand new cedar shakes (several had come off during stormy periods).
Once this process was done it was time to tape off any windows and gutters and lay down plastic on the decks and apply primer. Again we used an oil-based primer due to the wood surface. Justin used the paint sprayer and the hydraulic lift to apply a coat of primer to all of the siding. Then he waited a day for it to dry and then caulked any cracks or holes.
Once the caulk and primer were done it was time to paint! Justin again used the paint sprayer and applied two coats paint to the entire house. He did allow a day in between each coat for the paint to completely dry. In addition to Justin and I we had the help of my sister, brother-in-law and several close friends for prep, priming and painting.
If you are tackling a similar project on the exterior of your home be prepared to use a lot of paint, we end up using about 25 gallons of paint on our two-story home that is roughly 1,900 square feet.
After we completed all the painting it was time to finish all the small details of adding the downspouts back to the house (these were painted as well). In addition we painted the fascia boards of the house in white as there was some over-spray of paint on these and they needed painting. We had old paint from the last couple years when we re-painted our covered front porch.
Luckily we completed this project during the month of August when the weather conditions were ideal although we didn’t do much on days it was too hot but with help from our family and friends we were able to finish it before the rain starts up. This house painting process was very laborious and I am thankful to my husband for tackling a lot of the work. The hard work was so worth it as it has increased the aesthetic appeal of our home. In the future decades we have discussed possibly switching to vinyl siding or hardy plank siding but we will see what the future holds!
Leave a Reply