[Holland]

This is a house we just finished.

It is an interesting Ranch that was originally built in the early 1960's, and like so many other homes in this area, it was added-onto and renovated multiple times along the way until it was a one-of-a-kind home. This home will likely be passed down in the family for generations. It is not uncommon to have summer homes in this area that have been passed down three, four, or even five generations (and sometimes more).

In my opinion Solid Stain is the only appropriate "long-term" maintenance product for Rough Cut Cedar siding.

Previously, a "friend of the family" painter had sprayed the siding with a Latex Paint, but did not back-roll. I know this, because I met him, and he told me that was what he did many years ago. As a result, the siding was peeling extensively.

The soffits were also peeling extensively, from a combination of latex paint being applied over an oil based paint without primer, and failing original paint layer (depending on which part of the addition we were working on at the time).

-We spent almost a solid week scraping and prepping, and as I recommend in these cases, we switched back to Solid Stain for the siding.

* I feel that Solid Stain "breathes better", and will be less likely to peel in the future in the repaired areas, and would therefore require less involved maintenance in the future.
Texture was the primary concern switching back to solid stain, because there were a lot of areas that were scraped, and we did not want it to detract from the aesthetic. Although paint adds "build" and hides the chippy texture better, the Solid Stain is dead flat, which helped camouflag the peeling texture somewhat; not to mention that the texture is also somewhat hidden by the rough-cut Cedar siding texture itself.
In the end, the chippy texture was mostly unnoticeable, and more of an afterthought.

-We primed the soffits with an oil based primer before top coating with an Exterior 100% Acrylic Paint.

-We "primed" the siding areas with latex Solid Stain, and then double-coated all the siding.

-Deck was stained with Cabot Semi-solid oil based stain. the smaller deck had previously painted with a latex Solid Deck Stain, so we scraped and re-coated with same.

 

[IKnowNothing]

-We primed the soffits with an oil based primer before top coating with an Exterior 100% Acrylic Paint.

I would not use oil primer.
I would use XIM Peel Bond for that application, or Zinsser Peel Stop.
Tho by looking at TECHNICAL DATA, the XIM Peel Bond is better product than Zinsser Peel Stop.
But regardless of that, in my opinion either one of them would be better primer than oil primer.
Oil primer over unpainted wood is OK, (but I would use long-oil primer not the fast drying regular oil primer).
When priming with oil primer over scraped to the bare wood areas and un-scraped areas, oil primer is not the best product to go over the un-scraped areas.
Peel Bond type of product is far superior for that application in my opinion.

If you are not familiar with Peel Bond primer, here is the link:

https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/xim/primers-sealers/peel-bond/

TECHNICAL DATA:

https://www.rustoleum.com/-/media/DigitalEncyclopedia/Documents/RustoleumUSA/TDS/English/CBG/XIM/XIM-02_Peel_Bond_High-Build_Bonding_Primer_Sealer_TDS.ashx

 

[Holland]

Q - What's brown and sticky?

A - "Sticky" the mascot

 

[IKnowNothing]

* I feel that Solid Stain "breathes better", and will be less likely to peel in the future in the repaired areas, and would therefore require less involved maintenance in the future.
Texture was the primary concern switching back to solid stain, because there were a lot of areas that were scraped, and we did not want it to detract from the aesthetic. Although paint adds "build" and hides the chippy texture better, the Solid Stain is dead flat, which helped camouflag the peeling texture somewhat; not to mention that the texture is also somewhat hidden by the rough-cut Cedar siding texture itself.
In the end, the chippy texture was mostly unnoticeable, and more of an afterthought.

Maybe coco has more scientific data on that,
but in my opinion priming the siding with Peel Bond primer and applying good quality paint on top of it would perform better over the time than the solid stain.
And of course Peel Bond would hide/cover much better the scraped to the bare wood areas of the siding making the paint to look very uniformed.
I hit the scraped to the bare wood areas twice with Peel Bond, rest of the siding gets one coat of PB.
Dead flat stain in dark color is of course A disaster when it comes to the dust sticking to it.
Bit of sheen in top coat paint would be much better to deal with the dust issue.

 

[Holland]

Maybe coco has more scientific data on that,
but in my opinion priming the siding with Peel Bond primer and applying good quality paint on top of it would perform better over the time than the solid stain.
And of course Peel Bond would hide/cover much better the scraped to the bare wood areas of the siding making the paint to look very uniformed.
I hit the scraped to the bare wood areas twice with Peel Bond, rest of the siding gets one coat of PB.
Dead flat stain in dark color is of course disaster when it comes to the dust sticking to it.
Bit of sheen in top coat paint would be much better to deal with dust issue.

You're entitled to your opinion, and I respect that you have a viewpoint, I just happen to disagree with it.

If we all felt the same, it would be pretty boring around here.

I stated my opinions in order to elicit feedback, such as you shared, and to possibly garner discussion.

We mainly specialize in Cedar homes and older Historic homes, and I approach both of these styles differently, but with the same intent. I have loose guidelines, which I use to direct my approach to most homes. One primary motivator is to maintain the integrity of the architectural style and character of the home insofar as it relates to painting, and to have long-term strategy for maintenance that reduces extra steps (such as scraping and priming when possible).

 

[IKnowNothing]

You're entitled to your opinion, and I respect that you have a viewpoint, I just happen to disagree with it.

If we all felt the same, it would be pretty boring around here.

I stated my opinions in order to elicit feedback, such as you shared, and to possibly garner discussion. and I approach both of these styles differently, but with the same intent. I have loose guidelines, which I use to direct my approach to most ho

We mainly specialize in Cedar homes and older Historic homes. One primary motivator is to maintain the integrity of the architectural style and character of the home insofar as it relates to painting, and to have long-term strategy for maintenance that reduces extra steps (such as scraping and priming when possible).

You might not know this, but the Peel Bond primer is very extensively used in restoration of historical houses.
Google it.
There are articles and videos on it.

I take different approach when it comes to the prep work.
I prefer to use the best possible products aka primers and practices.
From the pictures (and your post) it looks like the surfaces were scraped, so why not to use best possible primer for it.
I don't think that you would distract the integrity and architectural style and character of the home by using best possible primer for it.
But perhaps you were not familiar with the superiority of Peel Bond primer.

 

[Holland]

You might not know this, but the Peel Bond primer is very extensively used in restoration of historical houses.
Google it.
There are articles and videos on it.

I take different approach when it comes to the prep work.
I prefer to use the best possible products aka primers and practices.
From the pictures (and your post) it looks like the surfaces were scraped, so why not to use best possible primer for it.
I don't think that you would distract the integrity and architectural style and character of the home by using best possible primer for it.
But perhaps you were not familiar with the superiority of Peel Bond primer.

Cedar homes should be stained.
Scraping rough cut cedar is always a bad idea, and in my opinion painting cedar homes is a crime.

*In this particular instance, the home was painted -and- stained over the course of several decades. Some of the house was painted, some was stained.

The "painted" portions (predictably) did not weather as well as the "stained" portions. This was due to a number of factors, but in the end, we had to choose one to move forward with.

It is my practice to return Cedar to solid stain whenever possible (if they have been painted, and are peeling)... and in this case, it was possible.

 

[IKnowNothing]

Cedar homes should be stained.
Scraping rough cut cedar is always a bad idea, and in my opinion painting cedar homes is a crime.

*In this particular instance, the home was painted -and- stained over the course of several decades. Some of the house was painted, some was stained.

The "painted" portions (predictably) did not weather as well as the "stained" portions. This was due to a number of factors, but in the end, we had to choose one to move forward with.

It is my practice to return Cedar to solid stain whenever possible (if they have been painted, and are peeling)... and in this case, it was possible.

I agree on the rough cut cedar not to be scraped, but from the second picture it looks like the siding was or scraped or sanded to the bare wood.
But when it comes to soffits, I would consider in the future to use Peel Bond primer instead of oil primer before painting them.
Peel Bond will give much better longevity of the top coat, than oil primer.
Tho some times longevity is not welcomed, when considering security of possible maintenance job in the future.

 

[Holland]

I agree on the rough cut cedar not to be scraped, but from the second picture it looks like the siding was or scraped or sanded to the bare wood.
But when it comes to soffits, I would consider in the future to use Peel Bond primer instead of oil primer before painting them.
Peel Bond will give much better longevity of the top coat, than oil primer.
Tho some times longevity is not welcomed, when considering security of possible maintenance job in the future.

It is unfortunate that we had to do so much scraping on rough cut Cedar. If it had been stained, that would not have happened.

re: soffits - are you advocating a "high-build primer" for 'touch-ups' on a smooth soffit surface, or are suggesting the entire surface be re-primed and then re-painted?
I am envisioning roller marks/texture from the high-build primer everywhere it is used.
Seems like it would be a more realistic option for an old pine board siding that has lots of chipped paint texture on the surface.

 

[Holland]

I feel that it is important to maintain the grain texture of rough-cut Cedar siding whenever possible.

Painting it too frequently (or at all) softens, and eventually forms a film that covers the grain/texture, and hides the character and charm of natural Cedar siding.

Given the circumstances, whereas some siding had been painted and some had not, we decided we could return to Solid Stain moving forward.

I anticipate that some more peeling will still happen in the painted areas in the future, but will be less and less as we continue with this approach.

 

[CApainter]

Nice work Holland! You really have a way of bringing inspiration to painting.

 

[RH]

Great looking work Holland. Seeing more and more really dark colors, even black, for exteriors these last few seasons. Not a fan of them myself but I guess whatever the HO desires.
edit: do any of you guys applying the dark colors feel they might be problematic in showing dust and dirt or when trying to do just basic things like brushing cobwebs away?

 

[Vylum]

looks awesome, agree with your solid stain choice. love the dark color, might have featured off the garage door to break up the darkness a bit and make something pop.

 

[IKnowNothing]

Q - What's brown and sticky?

A - "Sticky" the mascot

View attachment 112592

 

[Wildbill7145]

Great looking work Holland. Seeing more and more really dark colors, even black, for exteriors these last few seasons. Not a fan of them myself but I guess whatever the HO desires.
edit: do any of you guys applying the dark colors feel they might be problematic in showing dust and dirt or when trying to do just basic things like brushing cobwebs away?

Not around here. Every single house I've painted this year has been bright white. To the point where my wife is telling me I should start wearing sunglasses at work to deal with the glare. Shows everything. Cobwebs, spider poop, dead bugs, etc.

 

[Holland]

looks awesome, agree with your solid stain choice. love the dark color, might have featured off the garage door to break up the darkness a bit and make something pop.

Good call on the garage door. I agree it could look better.

The steel door was originally a dark chocolate brown that didn't match anything. My initial thought was to paint it the same color as the siding (so it does not draw undue attention), but pop the sheen for contrast.

However, they were out of all paint in that base. There wasn't a single can of paint to be had in a gallon in the needed base at that store, or any nearby stores. We settled for painting it the same as the siding, and told the customer we could re-paint it down the road. They managed to get a quart of paint so we could paint the service doors.

 

[Holland]

Great looking work Holland. Seeing more and more really dark colors, even black, for exteriors these last few seasons. Not a fan of them myself but I guess whatever the HO desires.
edit: do any of you guys applying the dark colors feel they might be problematic in showing dust and dirt or when trying to do just basic things like brushing cobwebs away?

We didn't do any color changes this year, other than a few minor tweaks here and there. All re-paints.

I'll have to rely on social media to tell me what's popular this season.

 

[Holland]

Not around here. Every single house I've painted this year has been bright white. To the point where my wife is telling me I should start wearing sunglasses at work to deal with the glare. Shows everything. Cobwebs, spider poop, dead bugs, etc.

sunglasses or crow-lines around your eyes. White paint is definitely bright.

They can start looking a little dingy when they get that dust film, and cobwebs, dead bugs, spider poop.

 

[Holland]

Here are Mascots from previous jobs:
"Chris the Unicorn"

"Baldy the Eagle"

 

[Wildbill7145]

However, they were out of all paint in that base. There wasn't a single can of paint to be had in a gallon in the needed base at that store, or any nearby stores.

That's really becoming a problem around here. Last house I finished I showed up to grab a bunch of paint and they had one single gallon of what I needed. Customer was heading to the city that day and grabbed what we needed, but they had to call several stores to find it. Never had this problem before.