Cleaning Sealing And Staining Cedar Siding

Prepare your cedar siding by washing it with soapy water to remove any dirt or dust if any has accumulated.

Cleaning sealing and staining cedar siding. Outdoor cedar care maintenance. How to clean stained cedar siding. Removing the the wood mold with oxygen bleach. After you have washed it wait for it to dry before applying any stain to the cedar.

Department of agriculture s forest services laboratory recommends cleaning cedar shingles with an oxidizing bleach as opposed to a household bleach to avoid damaging the wood. Begin by sweeping off dust and cobwebs. The safe and effective way to clean the wood is oxygen bleach. Use a thick brush when staining.

The siding must be thoroughly cleaned and old layers of paint or sealer must be removed before you can apply a new coat. The oxygen bleach comes as a granular powder that mixes with water. As written by the western red cedar lumber association. It is non toxic to trees and vegetation and will not remove natural color from the siding.

These natural elements slowly erode any previous applied finishes and as a result all exterior cedar requires regular cleaning and. South facing stained twice sealed once with honey gold. Presently coating failure and uneven coverage. It s important that cedar and redwood siding as well as cedar shingles and shakes are cleaned using a two step method prior to sealing the wood with a semitransparent oil based finish.

The wood cleaner will remove dirt gunk and grime that could be contaminating the surface of the wood. The surfaces of finished western red cedar decks siding and trim boards exposed outdoors inevitably become dirty and may also be discolored by mildew algae and moss. Inspect the siding for rot or damage. One of the most thorough methods when staining is to use a thick natural bristle brush.

Cedar shingles can also grow moss and algae or develop iron staining which requires periodic cleaning. Special techniques are necessary for cedar and redwood home maintenance because the wood is soft and can easily be damaged. Oil stains that are. The black coloring or darkening of the cedar siding is caused by mold growth.

To prepare the surface of rough cut cedar siding wash the siding down with a good wood cleaner and follow that up with an application of wood brightener. While you can use household bleach to kill mold and algae it tends to make the cedar shingle s surface fuzzy because of the excessive pulping reaction when using it.