# Primer for 100 Year Old Weathered Gray Wood Siding



## Sundep (Jul 19, 2018)

Hello, everyone. I would like some help selecting a primer and a compatible high build or block fill type product for my barn rescue project. I usually spray epoxy or urethane on construction equipment, so I am not familiar with the products that are available for the home builder and remodel industry.
This barn is over 100 years old. The paint is long gone. The wood is gray and the soft wood between the grains has eroded. (Imagine a piece of wood that got too close to the pressure washer.) There is about a 1/16th of an inch difference in the height of the grain. I am sure that those grooves will be about a 1/8th of an inch deep by the time that I brush the old gray wood out.
Here are my thoughts. . .
First, the surface prep will not be perfect. I seriously doubt that I will be able to brush or wash all of the dead gray wood out of the grains in the wood. Sanding is out of the question, because I would need to remove about an 1/16th of material and the siding would lose too much of its shape.
Second, the primer coat must perform flawlessly. If the primer fails and the paint peels, then I will never be able to get the bad paint out of the deep grain of the wood.
Third, I would like to fill in some of the grain in the wood after the primer coat. I think I can use the tops of the grain as a guide to maintain some of the original shape of the siding. So I would need a primer that would work with some type of high build filler type paint.
Thank you in advance for your time,
Paul


----------



## Sundep (Jul 19, 2018)

I would like to add one more thing . . .
I have a Sherwin Williams store and a Rodda Paint store in town. It would be helpful if you guys could suggest one of their products. If they work, of course. 


I trust SW because I have had good success with their Acrylic Enamel on cabinets, doors and trim. And Duration on the exterior.


I buy my industrial paints from Rodda. They suggested Shark Skin. 

Looking forward to your comments,
Paul


----------



## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

Look into PrimeRX. 



Probably your best bet as far as paint is concerned, from Sherwin since you suggested them yourself already.


I'd say probably 2 coats of it, but if your going to use filler of some kind, I would do that first to see how it looks like first before purchasing the primer. See how much you'll need. That is if you plan on dong large sections or the whole thing with some sort of filler. 



Then top coat it with Duration for example or Super Paint exterior. Done.


----------



## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Gray wood=dead wood. And dead wood=shedding wood. Shedding wood=no paint will stick to the good wood if it is sticking to the dead wood. Which is...you got it! Shedding wood! So when you add shedding wood to sticking paint you get? Peeling paint.


----------



## Sundep (Jul 19, 2018)

I understand. The gray, weathered wood needs to go. I will do my best, but my concern is that I will not be able to get all of the gray wood out of the cracks. Which means that there will be places where the primer would have to bridge across the gray wood. 



It looks like the Prime RX would be a good choice. Thank you for that recommendation.


----------



## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

Sundep said:


> I understand. The gray, weathered wood needs to go. I will do my best, but my concern is that I will not be able to get all of the gray wood out of the cracks. Which means that there will be places where the primer would have to bridge across the gray wood.
> 
> 
> 
> It looks like the Prime RX would be a good choice. Thank you for that recommendation.



isn't that a good time for a product like CPES or other penetrating product like dalys seafin that penetrates and hardens in the wood? primerx seems like a plastic bandaid.


----------



## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

strip and sell the old barn siding, re-cover the barn with metal, make a tidy profit.


----------



## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

I would almost think that if you want to go ahead with this, a solid oil stain would be the best bet to something that soaks into the wood more deeply.


----------



## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

Solid stain. Penetrate into that dead wood. 

Also, there are people that pay huge money for old grey barnwood, like PacMan said. You might be able to make a profit residing the thing.


----------



## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

The solid color stain idea is good, but it isn't going to give him a smoother appearance which is what he is after, I think. 



Otherwise yes, just slap some solid color deck/fence stain on it and call it good. But for a 'painted' exterior look then what I recommended first is probably the best way to go.


----------



## lilpaintchic (Jul 9, 2014)

DeanV said:


> I would almost think that if you want to go ahead with this, a solid oil stain would be the best bet to something that soaks into the wood more deeply.


For the win!!

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


----------



## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

Personally, I like XIM Peel Bond more than SW PrimeRx. In this case you’d have to apply so much Peel Bond to help smooth the wood grain that it’s probably not worth the trouble or expense. 

Spray and backbrush or backroll 2 coats of solid stain. Plus solid stains have a much higher perm rating. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sundep (Jul 19, 2018)

I am concerned that the imperfections in the siding will hold water. The soft part of the grain has eroded and some of the pieces are cupped. So that is why I wanted to try to "fill in" the cracks.


The guy at the SW store suggested Rejuvenate. It is sold as a “siding restoration” product. He said it can glue the siding back together. It is a self-priming, high build paint. Up to 40 mils wet. That definitely sounds like a plastic bandaid.


I have always liked the idea of oil based primer under latex paint. It seems to make sense to me. But do I dare bring up the oil vs latex primer debate?


Thank you for the Daly’s Sealfin idea. That is interesting.


Can I use the oil based solid stain to build up and fill in the imperfections?


If I use the solid stain, will the permeability be high enough to withstand the water that might get caught in the imperfections?


----------



## Sundep (Jul 19, 2018)

I can't strip the siding and sell it, because this is supposed to be a historic restoration. It is a very unique, old chicken barn. Long and a low and all glass on one side. It looks pretty cool. Apparently, the siding is valuable, because someone stole a bunch of siding that I had salvaged from another old shed.


----------



## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

Sundep said:


> I am concerned that the imperfections in the siding will hold water. The soft part of the grain has eroded and some of the pieces are cupped. So that is why I wanted to try to "fill in" the cracks.
> 
> 
> The guy at the SW store suggested Rejuvenate. It is sold as a “siding restoration” product. He said it can glue the siding back together. It is a self-priming, high build paint. Up to 40 mils wet. That definitely sounds like a plastic bandaid.
> ...


Depends on how much money they want to spend to get it right.

The best way is to use an oil based primer after pressure washing and sanding/scraping. 

Then you can fill in the holes with an epoxy wood filler. Spot prime the filler after sanding. Next a couple of coats of a flat acrylic paint like Aura, Regal or Dulux Diamond. With an oil-based stain you will get massive fading about 6 months later. Benjamin Moore 'Aura' will maintain or preserve its color the longest.

I often use an exterior spackle (2 coats) after priming instead of epoxy wood filler, but wood filler is the best. I usually spot prime the waterbased spackle with an exterior acrylic primer. The base coat primer is still oil based. 
The key is to sandwich the spackle in between primers. I've never had spackle break down on my exteriors. They usually last 15 years if done this way and I live in one of the harshest climates on earth, Canada.


----------



## Sundep (Jul 19, 2018)

Mr. Smith,
Thank you for your suggestions. I really want to get this right and I appreciate your detailed response.


Do you have a particular brand of exterior spackle that you prefer?



This barn is in the mountains in Idaho. Not quite as bad as Canada, but it was 40 degrees last night and in the 90's today. Lots of sun and lots of snow.


Thanks again,
Paul


----------



## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

Sundep said:


> Mr. Smith,
> Thank you for your suggestions. I really want to get this right and I appreciate your detailed response.
> 
> 
> ...


Shur-Stick featherweight spackle

https://yhdistributors.ca/product_details/1058

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1901/9671/files/7678.pdf

I live near the Rocky Mountains. We don't get much hotter than 32 degrees Celcius (90F) for a few weeks a year but as low as -40C in the winter. (-40F)


----------



## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

Sundep said:


> I can't strip the siding and sell it, because this is supposed to be a historic restoration. It is a very unique, old chicken barn. Long and a low and all glass on one side. It looks pretty cool. Apparently, the siding is valuable, because someone stole a bunch of siding that I had salvaged from another old shed.


I have a historic chicken coop in my back yard. 12x30, long and low with windows on one side, cedar lap siding. Built in 1924. All the historic chickens are dead, so I said screw it and vinyl sided it. Looks damn good too!

Glad I could help.


----------



## Sundep (Jul 19, 2018)

HAHAHAHA!

My historic chickens are gone, too. But I wish they would have took there historic poop with them.


----------



## Wolfgang (Nov 16, 2008)

Sundep said:


> HAHAHAHA!
> 
> My historic chickens are gone, too. But I wish they would have took there historic poop with them.


On a hot day, I can still smell it in mine lol. I've scraped and power washed the 
floor, walls, and ceilings. Don't even think Bin would make a dent in the odor.


----------



## Tristan Froheit (Aug 2, 2018)

*proper prep for this situation*

To get the dead wood fibers out, you must do a composite wash first. I can explain what this is if you do not know... just ask. 

After the composite wash and rebalancing of the PH... 


If you are PAINTING... use a LONG OIL... Pratt and Lambert Prohide Gold 400 is one of the only good long oils out there... it bonds and lasts and allows the topcoat to move around. 

Topcoat with 100 percent acrylic... but make sure to use a tinting system that does not use propylene glycol... Benjamin Moore's Genex system uses no propylene Glycol... 

Whatever you use as a topcoat... just make sure it is unmodified resins... 

I hope that helps.


----------



## Sundep (Jul 19, 2018)

Tristan Froheit said:


> To get the dead wood fibers out, you must do a composite wash first. I can explain what this is if you do not know... just ask.
> 
> After the composite wash and rebalancing of the PH...


I was going to wash with TSP and scrub the dead fibers out with a brush. Then rinse with a bleach solution to kill off any mildew because there is some black on it now.

Do you have a better way?


----------



## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

Tristan Froheit said:


> To get the dead wood fibers out, you must do a composite wash first. I can explain what this is if you do not know... just ask.
> 
> After the composite wash and rebalancing of the PH...
> 
> ...


I think you mean ethylene glycol


----------



## Tristan Froheit (Aug 2, 2018)

*Better way? Hmmmm...*



Sundep said:


> I was going to wash with TSP and scrub the dead fibers out with a brush. Then rinse with a bleach solution to kill off any mildew because there is some black on it now.
> 
> Do you have a better way?


Washing with TSP will do very little in this case. Do not use household bleach. use something called oxalic acid, commonly known as wood bleach. However, this is unnecessary if you use a composite-wash system, for example, Restore-a-deck has an excellent composite-wash system I have used many times successfully. Note that any bleach, including wood bleach, will alter the PH in the wood, so it is necessary to balance the PH again before sanding and staining, or priming and painting, depending on what your coating preference is. Also, any bleach will tend to damage the lignins in the wood, so a composite wash is best. Actually, technically, sanding is always best, but composite-washing is very quick and easy if you do it right, especially if you have a large area to do. But you will still have to sand after composite-washing as you will FIR the wood with the pressure-washer.


----------



## Tristan Froheit (Aug 2, 2018)

cocomonkeynuts said:


> I think you mean ethylene glycol


No sir. I think you are confusing the oil and gas industry with the paint industry. 

I mean specifically PROPYLENE GLYCOL. More specifically, PE Propylene glycol monoethyl ether ... paint using PG-gycol ethers as coalescents. 

These tinting systems are widely used in the industry and if you get your paint from a hardware store or most other pro stores, PPG, Sherwin Williams, ICI, Coronado, Qwal, Frazee, Fuller Obrien, etc, etc... you are guaranteed to have Propylene Glycol in your paint, which is not good. Now, I have to mention that in most industrial lines, they will not use these tinting systems because they compromise the integrity of the product in which they are used. For example, if you want a hard finish that does not scuff and you go with almost any brand name company, they all have special products for these purposes. Let's say you want a hard finish that resists scuffing and you want a dark color. Well, they have to remove Titanium Dioxide and add more tint to get it darker, so the more tint, the more Propylene Glycol, and guess what the Propylene Glycol does to the product? Yep, it makes it softer... so you are defeating the purpose. One of the best systems that does not utilize PG is Genex from Benjamin Moore. You can ask your supplier to use a system that does not incorporate PG, but most paint stores will not even know how to answer this question. Of course, we are ONLY talking about water-based materials here. Solvent-based materials are a completely different animal, also with their pros and cons. 

I hope this helps clear things up a bit. Cheers!


----------



## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

Tristan Froheit said:


> No sir. I think you are confusing the oil and gas industry with the paint industry.
> 
> I mean specifically PROPYLENE GLYCOL. More specifically, PE Propylene glycol monoethyl ether ... paint using PG-gycol ethers as coalescents.
> 
> ...



My bad. Gennex colorants contain polyethelyne glycol and not propylene glycol.


----------

