External Stripping and Refinishing

who: you
what: buy a pressure washer and get to work
where: [what location/climate?] pressure wash at every painted surface
when: every weekend
why: to further peel off the paint.
how: repeatedly to drive moisture into the wood will encourage
additional peeling.
this will cost little but the wood doesn't like it.
or:
find the look of the shingles or clapboards you desire and install it
over the existing surface, which will cost a fortune.
or:
install decorative or cleverly integrated solar collectors on those
west walls to warm up the pool or jacuzzi or hot water tank to take
your mind off chemical paint stripping, which is about the only other
way to go because you don't want to scrape off the old paint with a
heat gun or risk burning the nice wood or the house.

I was actually thinking about removing the existing paint, if possible,
and then staining/sealing at that point. I don't know what the wood is
going to look like underneath, but I imagine that it wont be pretty...
- hence the stain factor.

We're going to test it, just to make sure.

What do you recommend I do to remove the old paint? Wood stripper?

Todd wrote:

> I was actually thinking about removing the existing paint, if possible,
> and then staining/sealing at that point. I don't know what the wood is
> going to look like underneath, but I imagine that it wont be pretty...
> - hence the stain factor.
>
> We're going to test it, just to make sure.
>
> What do you recommend I do to remove the old paint? Wood stripper?
>
That would cost a fortune, not to mention major, major mess. Easier and
less expensive, probably to reside it. A clear finish or stain on
siding that gets a lot of weather will require pretty frequent maintenance.

"Todd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
>
> My wife and I recently discovered that our house, which is painted
> externally, was originally sold with a wonderful external wood finish.
> Previous owners have since painted over the wood finished exterior,
> leaving us with the house we have today.
>
>
> We'd LOVE to restore the original look of the house, somewhat. (At
> least the wood portion of things.) I was wondering what steps I need to
> take to do the following:
>
> a.) remove the paint from the wood facing (the entire front of the
> house, basically - two stories)
> b.) seal the newly restored wood facing
> c.) ensure that the seal will last a reasonable amount of time. We're
> at a high elevation and we have a west facing house, so the sun is
> fairly brutal.
>
> So there it is. I'm interested in techniques, as well as product
> recommendations. Also, should the wood underneath the paint be stained
> and sealed, or just sealed?
>
Siding isn't hardwood furniture. The paint soaks into the wood. Highly
unlikely that you would be able to remove the paint well enough to get that
'bare wood' look without removing so much of the surface layer that the
place would look strange, and all the crisp edges and flat surfaces would
end up looking like driftwood. I'd learn to live with it, or maybe pick a
paint/stain color and a surface texture that mimics wood. (Can you say faux
finish?) If you really want the wood look, you are looking at reskinning the
house. Possible, but expensive, although probably not much more than
stripping on such a massive scale would be.

Don't take my word for it- pick a spot hidden from the street, like behind a
bush, and do a couple of square feet, and see what you come up with. Odds
are they painted the place for a reason- unless you keep them well-sealed,
clear-finish siding jobs usually end up looking splotchy rather quickly,
especially where the sun hits all day versus where it is shaded, or where
rain hits. Personally, I like splotchy bare cedar, but most people think it
looks like an abandoned barn.

aem sends...