# Painting over Solid Oil Satin



## 6126 (May 9, 2010)

I am looking at a home with smooth cedar siding that was done with Olympic Solid Oil Stain approx 5 years ago. Other than being faded and a fair amount of mildew, its held up pretty well. No peeling. Curious about how well oil primer and two coats latex would hold up? I have come across cedar siding houses before where it appearded someone had painted over an oil stain and may or may not have used a primer and soon as I applied my paint there was a reaction causing bubbles all over siding where the paint appeared to be sound and bonding fine until I hit it with a fresh coat. My guess is they were not primed and someone simply put latex over the Oil Stain. This is a little different since I am the one painting over the stain. Some guys are priming with SW Deckscapes, but I dont trust that and feel better with an oil primer. I dont want to risk doing something thats going to evenually fail down the road. Also, a lot of caulking that would generally be more for cosmetic reasons has never been done, and I feel it should be left that way to avoid any possible issues of trapping moisture. I have searched through some old threads and decided to start another. Thanks.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Arborcoat. Clean it well and coat it. No need to prime unless you have tannin bleed. Let it dry well though, if you dont have a moisture meter, get one. They're not expensive and can help prevent future problems.


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## HeadHoncho (Apr 17, 2007)

Woodland said:


> I am looking at a home with smooth cedar siding that was done with Olympic Solid Oil Stain approx 5 years ago. Other than being faded and a fair amount of mildew, its held up pretty well. No peeling. Curious about how well oil primer and two coats latex would hold up? I have come across cedar siding houses before where it appearded someone had painted over an oil stain and may or may not have used a primer and soon as I applied my paint there was a reaction causing bubbles all over siding where the paint appeared to be sound and bonding fine until I hit it with a fresh coat. My guess is they were not primed and someone simply put latex over the Oil Stain. This is a little different since I am the one painting over the stain. Some guys are priming with SW Deckscapes, but I dont trust that and feel better with an oil primer. I dont want to risk doing something thats going to evenually fail down the road. Also, a lot of caulking that would generally be more for cosmetic reasons has never been done, and I feel it should be left that way to avoid any possible issues of trapping moisture. I have searched through some old threads and decided to start another. Thanks.


This is simple.

Check for proper attic, siding, and soffit ventilation! This is huge! Hire an attic specialist if needed!

Then I'd suggest to clean the surface with a proper solution and let dry thoroughly, check with moisture meter! 2-3 sunny days.

Use a slow drying oil based primer like Sherwin Williams wood primer. Needs I think 24-48hrs dry time. If your using a light color...Prime twice! Don't want to chance bleed through.

Caulk where needed, DO NOT caulk the underneath side of lap siding so it can breathe!

Then put 2 coats of a Quality latex on top, like Sherwin Williams Duration.

This system should last 20yrs if home is on a annual maintenance schedule.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

gcajnr21 said:


> Then put 2 coats of a Quality latex on top, like Sherwin Williams Duration.
> 
> This system should last 20yrs if home is on a annual maintenance schedule.


it specifies one coat on repaints....see link to PDS :whistling2:

http://www.paintdocs.com/webmsds/webPDF.jsp?SITEID=STORECAT&lang=E&doctype=PDS&prodno=640515516


It should last 20 years? But it has a lifetime warranty? What is the maintenance on Duration?


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## Gotdibz (Sep 30, 2010)

making sure everything is scuff sanded, or a good pass with the orbital is vital for any primer to stick. I would then prime with a good oil primer.

I've had good results with BM fresh start oil primers. Penetrating primer and all purpose alkyd. or good old zinsser cover stain. then you can always spot prime any bleed-through with some shellac.


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## 6126 (May 9, 2010)

Thanks for the replies guys. And yes, living in the Pacific Northwest I carry a moisture meter in the glove box. Anyway, my original thought was wash, sand, and prime with SW Exterior Primer (used to be called A-100 primer) followed by two coats of Super Paint. However, today I was also considering two coats Arbor Coat Solid Stain (waterbourne) Any thoughts?


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## plainpainter (Nov 6, 2007)

Am I missing something? Why wouldn't you just restain with an oil solid stain? That use to be my specialty, half my jobs I did solid oil siding stain - why folks ever started using latex paint for anything but trim is beyond me.


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## 6126 (May 9, 2010)

plainpainter said:


> Am I missing something? Why wouldn't you just restain with an oil solid stain? That use to be my specialty, half my jobs I did solid oil siding stain - why folks ever started using latex paint for anything but trim is beyond me.


 I agree, but its not really my specialty thats why I was asking. 95% of my exteriors are Hardiplank. How long does an oil stain generally hold up? And the reason I was considering the waterbourne was better color retention.


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## CliffK (Dec 21, 2010)

My experience with these is- less is more. Is the siding vertical or horizontal? Vertical in my experience being the most problematic. If there was a vabor barrier used under the drywall when the house was constructed it helps a lot, but these types of siding trap moisture like crazy. I have seen many that were coated with an oil solid or semi-solid that lasted a long time only to fade or grow crazy mildew. As soon as people started to coat them with solid acrylics they could no longer breath(to thick of a paint build up) and then they started to fail. Sometimes it's possible just to gently wash off the mildew and not coat them and you look like a big hero. If that's not the case I would probably go with NCPaint1's suggestion with the ArborCoat. I love the solid oils, but they are not what they used to be. I would lean towards not priming as long as there is no bare wood. Just get it really clean and watch any power wash. I do them by hand. The more you seal these houses, many times the quicker they fail. Best of luck Woodland


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## plainpainter (Nov 6, 2007)

Woodland said:


> I agree, but its not really my specialty thats why I was asking. 95% of my exteriors are Hardiplank. How long does an oil stain generally hold up? And the reason I was considering the waterbourne was better color retention.


Oil solid stains generally hold up forever, they just gradually fade away. I understand the color retention aspect, as solid stains will oxidize and lighten up over time - more noticeable with dark bold colors than light. My house is 5 years on it's last solid stain, color is black and it's just showing some fading now. This I think is much better than seeing outright paint failure after 1 or 2 years. What good is color retention on a falling plaque of paint the size of your palm?

Obviously oil based stains are older technology, but I still adhere to the Kiss principle. Heck I have an older gentleman customer that had his Cape totally resided 20 years ago with pre-primed siding - and it took solid stain beautifully. I even used and still use gloss oil paint for the trim on that house - and it's the best looking house, grows a little mildew, but nothing a quickie house wash can't take care of. But there doesn't seem to be any less mildew on surrounding latex homes.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Woodland said:


> I agree, but its not really my specialty thats why I was asking. 95% of my exteriors are Hardiplank. How long does an oil stain generally hold up? And the reason I was considering the waterbourne was better color retention.


Your reasoning is correct sir :thumbsup: The acrylics will hold their color better, and with the acrylic colorants, even better still. Solid oils are great for new cedar, actually they're good as the first coat over most new wood. Exterior repaints should almost always be done with Acrylics these days...they're just better all around. Oils tend to fade much faster, chalk, and grow more mildew/mold.


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## 6126 (May 9, 2010)

Thanks for the input Daniel, I am going with the stain.


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