100yr old cedar siding- Prep

In Seattle so moisture is an issue- no vapor barrier & in many places have sanded and scraped down to bare wood. I do not believe bleed through is a problem with this siding, to the contrary my husband thinks that oil primer is preferable because it will be absorbed more into the siding & will hold the paint better.

We are planning to paint two coats of primer over the entire house, but wasn't sure if oil was the best choice.

?

 

Normally an oil base primer is the way to go but on older houses that lack the proper vapor barrier [often light on insulation too] it is better to use an exterior latex wood primer. Latex primers do a poor job of sealing tannins but it will let the siding breathe. Often what happens on these older homes is moisture travels thru the siding [from the inside] and if it's stopped [by an oil base paint/primer] it gets trapped and sooner or later the paint will peel

I don't seen any benefit from a 2nd coat of primer unless there is tannin bleed. A 2nd coat of finish paint would do more good than a 2nd coat of primer. I'd add some of Flood's emulsa bond to the 1st coat of primer.


oops, almost forgot welcome to the forums!

 

I agree with Mark - one coat of primer but consider two coats of paint

What paint do you anticipate using and where are you planning to get it?

 

We had used Parker Paint, previously which has been more than 15 years ago- and were happy with it, so we were going to probably use that again.

 

I don't believe I've ever used or seen that brand but there isn't much sense in changing from a winning product - you know it holds up