Upcoming Paint Project.

The outside of my house is looking pretty bad these days. I am currently in the planning stages of painting it. I believe the siding, cedar shingles, to be original at about 87 years old. I will be replacing the few shingles that need it. From what I can tell, they house got a quick coat of latex paint before it was sold to us.

There appears to be patches of old oil based paint underneath. While quite a bit of the paint is removing itself, I don't expect that process to be done by the time I start painting. While I have only tested the trim paint for lead, I have not yet testing the shingle paint. The trim paint is positive for lead and I assume the same of the old paint on the shingles. So I am looking for other's opinions on safe and "easy" removal of the loose lead paint. I'm pretty much deciding between scraping or using a stripper. This product appeals to me: http://www.amazon.com/Lead-OutTM-Pai...paint+stripper

https://flic.kr/p/s1rCu7

 

Unless you want to, you don't have to remove all the lead paint. It's acceptable to paint over sound lead based paint [encapsulation]

I don't have much experience with lead removal other than just scraping it off back in the day Today there are strict regulations concerning lead paint removal although there is a lot more leeway for homeowners compared to contractors. The new lead regs came in as I was retiring so I didn't take the class but we do have a few members that have so hopefully they'll chime in.

They claim that product neutralizes the lead - I've never heard of any product doing that. Normally the lead paint is removed and contained for disposal. It also says it's a soy based product and when it comes to strippers the more caustic they are, the more effective they usually are. Soy based strippers are considered the least effective Many like to 'peel away' strippers for removing and containing the lead paint.

 

The big question becomes....how much time do you want to put into stripping vs. replacement?

The view of the house you are showing indicates a fair number of shingles that could stand replacing. While I operate in the restoration world and try to preserve as much original fabric as possible, there really does come a point where the efforts are counterproductive.

My experience with many of the "green" strippers is that they are painfully slow to act, expensive, and messy.

By all means, I would not dissuade you from trying a section to see how it goes. Most original shingle applications were initially stained and as time took its toll the wood was painted. Shingles of your age are nearing the end of the line unless they were better protected than they are on your house, via the non-existent eave.

Going with new quality shingles gives you the chance to review the sheathing , house wrap, and even the insulation. You then also have the ability to prime the back of the new material which is the standard recommended procedure today.

The areas that may have performed better can perhaps be prepared for a new finish. I have used this product with good performance as a primer.
maddogprimer.com

In 1990 I decided to replace the shingles on the front gable of a property I own. I bought the best, clear vertical grain red cedar, primed all faces and the front face twice. I then applied one finish coat and installed them and applied an additional finish coat. They were just repainted 2 years ago and that was only because of a combination of dirty surface and some uv breakdown of the original finish. Nothing was peeling or otherwise failing.

 

I have much more time than I have money. I would love to replace the siding, but it seems that is further off than I would like it to be. I'm not crazy about stripping paint, but it might be the safest way to go. I'd use a machine to grind it off if the shingles were flat, but that isn't going to happen. The lead paint that is still on there is mostly letting itself go. They did not do any type of primer between the oil and latex. If I don't remove most of the old oil paint, it is just going to peel off a year or two after I paint.

That picture is of the south side and is the worst. The west and east aren't nearly as bad and the north is in really good shape. While there are quite a few shingles curling and some broken, they don't let any water in.

That stripper converts the lead into lead sulfite.

 

No matter what you do it is going to be expensive. I think the lowest cost will be to prime any bare wood or places that are peeling back to the oil-based paint with a pigmented shellac and then go over the entire house with a decent, yet not top-of-the-line latex. Then start saving for a complete residing. Since I don't care for the look of shingles I would opt for either vinyl drop siding or one of the composites.

 

Pigmented shellac isn't really rated for exterior use, generally we only use it over select problem areas.
It is imperative to prime any new/raw cedar with an oil base primer to prevent tannin bleed! If the old lead based paint is bonded well to the cedar you can leave it. Oil priming over the lead based paint will insure that latex paint will bond to it.

 

For residing, I want to get fiber-cement shingles.

Whatever I do to repaint, it will be far less than residing.

 

Although there are a number of reasons why paint peels, moisture entering raw wood from the backside is a primary cause. Shingles that were applied without priming to all surfaces usually suck up a fair amount of water as it runs down the side of a building. Couple that with a strong solar exposure and you will have peeling paint. The fact that you have very little protection from the eave compounds the issue.

Grinding the paint would not be easy as the cedar will be so dry and soft that you will tear it up pretty hastily.

If you pressure wash with a very low pressure machine and keep the wand at a very broad angle to the surface you will get most of the really loose stuff off.

 

The peelings paint is from latex over oil based. None of the latex paint is peeling at all. Only the old oil based paint. It is happening on all sides.

 

Ummmm.... IMO you should just scrape and / or powerwash (down wash only) then use oil primer + latex paint on the trim only... and a white stain on the shingles. Stain wont peel provided you apply it thin on a cloudy day.

BTW, drooplug, not that you care but I'm staying in Paramus, NJ for the next couple weeks. Working in NY temporarily.

 

Peeling to bare wood is a moisture issue, weathered wood or mill glaze. Peeling between paint films is poor prep or incompatible materials.

 

Are you saying the latex is peeling off of the oil based paint [adhesion issue between the 2 types of paint] or that the latex is coming off along with the oil base paint?

 

The latex is coming off with the oil. The paint layers are attached to each other.

It is my understanding that when you apply latex over oil without proper prep, the latex shrinks and pulls the oil paint off. This happened to my interior baseboards. Now the original finish on the baseboards was varnish. They probably didn't prep that properly for the oil so I'm sure that also played a role. None of the latex paint is coming off off the siding. So if it was a moisture issue, I would expect to see that as well.

 

Nice. Not too familiar with Paramus. I know they have a mall. I assume you are working in NYC?

I've been commuting into NYC the past two weeks myself. Looks like we will be doing the same this week and perhaps the following. The shop is slow so they have us working on an installation. They usually use a subcontractor for that. I can say not much gets done in a day working in NYC. This particular building doesn't allow us in until 9 am. Then we have to be out by 4pm. Though we leave at 3pm to get home on time. We also can't make any loud noises before 10 am. So no saws.

 

My BiL went to NYC to remodel a company apartment and they were told the same thing made it hard to get the job done in short order. They also got in trouble for parking the truck in front of the bldg long enough to unload equipment and material ....... and they didn't leave the truck unattended. His biggest complaint was how expensive breakfast was compared to east tenn

Latex paints will expand/contract slightly while solvent based coatings don't. Generally oil base can be applied over latex on the interior with no issues but to apply latex over any oil base enamel or varnish you must first apply a solvent based coating. On the exterior it's a little different as latex paint will bond to weathered oil base paint and generally there is no need to have a primer to facilitate the bond. I suspect the weight of additional coats of paint along with how old the underlying paint is caused the 2 different types pf paint to peel off of the siding.

 

xsleeper, you need to delete some of your private messages. Your inbox is full.

 

Ooops, sorry. .................