Painting Cedar Wood

Coating raw cedar with clear wax is the most unobtrusive way to finish.

Painting cedar wood.

Because of cedar s large pores it is necessary to prime the wood before painting it. The best choice of paint to use for cedar wood is urethane acrylic house paint. Surface preparation is not necessary for textured cedar. But be aware that it is notoriously difficult to mimic authentic wood color with paint.

Even then the paint is not expected to last long. Weathered new wood that has been exposed to the elements for longer than 2 weeks may have a degraded surface that is unsuitable for painting. 7 tips painting or staining cedar wood siding walking into a paint store can be overwhelming trying to decide which paint or stain coating you wish to provide your exterior cedar wood and siding as there are many varieties. About wrcla the western red cedar lumber association is a non profit association representing 27 producers of the finest western red cedar lumber throughout.

Don t paint over bare cedar boards or the finish will fail. You can skip this if the cedar is textured. Sand the cedar siding if it has a smooth finish. The smoothness of cedar makes it a natural choice for furniture its lack of knots and raised grain is comfortable against the body.

This procedure will greatly increase the coatings performance but will not detract from a smooth finish. Be careful when painting very old cedar siding. Surface preparation is the key to success when dealing with weathered wood. If you absolutely want some type of wood appearance paint is not a good alternative.

Don t use plain latex primer and paint on exterior cedar boards as they do not provide adequate elasticity in fluctuating temperatures. Lightly sand following the direction of the wood grain with 50 or 60 grit sandpaper. The following outline is intended to prepare you before buying any such products knowing exactly which type fits your final outcome. Cedar wood naturally repels insects is aromatic and a very durable material.

While extremely old cedar can be painted it requires heavy preparation. The siding must be free from mold mildew and dirt. Freshly cut cedar contains large amounts of moisture. You will need approximately 1 gallon of each paint and primer for every 400 square feet.

Choose a paint and primer. Loosened photodegraded surface fibers and. Be sure to wait 6 weeks before painting or you may have problems with adhesion. Once done let the wood dry completely for approximately two weeks.