I posted a similar question not too long ago. I am repainting a house with cedar clapboards. I have sanded them down to the bare wood. I have been using bondo all purpose putty for large cracks and gouges as well as filling counter sunk nail holes. I think the bondo is great for large gouges, but am wondering about nail holes. I have heard that something like DAP elastopatch (as per this website) would be better for nail holes and small dings because it stays flexible. Also bondo in every nail hole is very time consuming, especially sanding. It's great though for fixing a split clap after it has been glued back together. Here is how I would do this. 1. Patch large cracks/gaps with bondo all purpose putty. 2. Sand clapboards and bondo 3. Prime 4. Sand primer 100 grit 5. Fill nailholes with DAP product/caulk seams 6.Prime 7. Topcoat. BTW I will be using an oil based primer. Any thoughts on this. If I use the esalstopatch should I prime first or fill then prime? Thanks for the help.

I have a newer home, 3 years old, and the paint is already peeling from the front porch, trim around the windows and the garage door. I've scraped the porch railing and trim first so I can finish them, then move on to the garage and windows. The porch railing and ballisters are wood but the posts and trim seem to be a "plastic," (?), material made to look like rough sawn wood. The worst peeling was on the wood and not as bad on the "plastic." I've also sanded the wood rail and ballisters but haven't done the trim for fear of removing the "grain" embossed into the pieces. I'd like to make sure my paint job lasts longer than the 3 years the builders painters did! I'll be priming first then putting on the paint, using a top quality latex paint. My question is what type primer should I be using on each of these surfaces? Would a good quality latex work for both the wood and the "plastic" trim?