Best Way To Restore Cedar Siding

Brighten the surface of the cedar siding with deck and fence brightener or apply a new coat of stain to restore a vivid color and luster to the siding.

Best way to restore cedar siding.

If your siding s fresh color lays buried under a gray weathered surface and mold buy a bleach based cleaning solution or mix 3 4 cup of bleach with 1 gallon of water to restore or. Use a synthetic cedar siding stain to. First remove any mill glaze a hard shiny surface on one side of the siding by sanding. Stains dry rapidly and fresh stain applied over dried stain will show lap marks.

It s best to contact the lumber yard directly where the cedar was sourced and ask them if their stock of cedar is ready to stain immediately most cedar these days come out of the lumber yards dry enough to be stained immediately. If possible stain all sides of the siding before installation. The usefulness of cedar for exterior applications such as siding and fencing is due to its exceptional weather resistance but over time even cedar siding can be damaged from exposure to moisture and ultraviolet uv rays. However if you want to be safe than sorry it s best to let the wood dry for one full season.

Depending on the quality of stain or paint you use for your cedar siding it should easily last for up to 5 7 years. The good news about cedar shingle siding is its ability to resist rot and pests better than other woods but as a soft wood it mars easily. When left to its own devices cedar weathers well to a silvery gray a common siding material used for beach homes and mountain cabins. As well you may compromise the wood s ability to hold a finish.

Cedar siding though durable and able to maintain a good finish for a long period of time does sometimes get damaged and it is certainly not completely immune to rot no matter how well it has been treated and maintained. If you try to cut down on time by power washing your siding you will run the risk of seriously damaging the wood. How to restore your western red cedar siding prime time. Used for shingles trim house siding decking fences hot tubs and gates cedar is cheap widely available highly versatile easy to fabricate and best of all it weathers exceptionally well.

Just as we mentioned the best way to keep your cedar siding looking new is to repaint it every two 2 3 years. Staining cedar siding differs from application of paint and other finishes. If the weather conditions in your area is not too harsh it may go as long as up to 10 years. But one aspect is that cedar s lovely red turns a monotonous gray surprisingly quickly.