·
06/08/2022
I have wood siding in New England that was installed ~20 years ago by the former owner. I believe it is smooth, clear cedar but no idea what the coating was and I doubt if there has been much if any maintenance done over the years.
I attempted to clean a few test sections using oxygen bleach (Stain Solver - we have mature plants near but not touching the siding that I want to avoid damaging). I used a medium/soft brush after 15 minutes and garden hose to rinse (not a pressure washer). The grime easily came off along with what was left of the old coating I think. For the heavy sun exposed test section it has a rougher feel where some of the UV damaged wood came off but it isn't too bad but probably would look better if sanded. In the shady test spot it remained smooth (most of the house is shaded by trees so I suspect this will be 70% of what I will experience). I can smell the cedar up close after cleaning.
I was thinking of sealing using Armstrong Clark Semi transparent and testing a few colors to see what looks nice once I prep the test sections. My understanding is it is easier to reapply coats as needed later to maintain the appearance with that stain.
Any recommendations on how to proceed given I don't know what was on it before? Can I continue to use the oxygen bleach to clean given that seems to work well, and then RAD brightener and then stain?
Or do you think there would be benefit to using the RAD stripper instead of oxygen bleach going forward (without damaging the plants)? Or do I need to sand all sections using 60 grit and then brighten since I don't know what the prior stain was last used 10-20 years before?
I would like to take the time to do it right so that the wood is protected and looks nice but avoid doing extra steps or risk damaging plants if it doesn't matter. Thanks!
I attempted to clean a few test sections using oxygen bleach (Stain Solver - we have mature plants near but not touching the siding that I want to avoid damaging). I used a medium/soft brush after 15 minutes and garden hose to rinse (not a pressure washer). The grime easily came off along with what was left of the old coating I think. For the heavy sun exposed test section it has a rougher feel where some of the UV damaged wood came off but it isn't too bad but probably would look better if sanded. In the shady test spot it remained smooth (most of the house is shaded by trees so I suspect this will be 70% of what I will experience). I can smell the cedar up close after cleaning.
I was thinking of sealing using Armstrong Clark Semi transparent and testing a few colors to see what looks nice once I prep the test sections. My understanding is it is easier to reapply coats as needed later to maintain the appearance with that stain.
Any recommendations on how to proceed given I don't know what was on it before? Can I continue to use the oxygen bleach to clean given that seems to work well, and then RAD brightener and then stain?
Or do you think there would be benefit to using the RAD stripper instead of oxygen bleach going forward (without damaging the plants)? Or do I need to sand all sections using 60 grit and then brighten since I don't know what the prior stain was last used 10-20 years before?
I would like to take the time to do it right so that the wood is protected and looks nice but avoid doing extra steps or risk damaging plants if it doesn't matter. Thanks!