Make Paint Stick to Wood Shingles and Siding

LESLIE: Alright. We’ve got Albert calling in from my neck of the woods; Long Island, New York. What can we do for you today?

ALBERT: My question is about exterior home painting.

TOM: OK.

ALBERT: I have a house that’s in need of painting. It has wood shingles and the paint is chipping. What’s the best way to remove the paint and how much primer should I apply?

TOM: Well, you’ve got to get off all the loose paint and with a wood shake, the best way to do that is simply to wire brush it. Because I mean you could use a chemical stripper but that’s an enormous job. But you want to wire brush it and get off all the loose stuff you can and then I would apply an oil-based primer if you want to make sure that whatever new paint you put on is going to last as long as possible.

Using an oil-based primer is essentially the glue that makes the paint stick and if you do that and let it dry real well, then you could put a latex top coat over that. And that’s the best way to get the adhesion that will ensure that you get long-time coverage out of that paint job.

ALBERT: Now do I need to sand it, as well?

TOM: You could. I mean you could sand it; you could wire brush it. You need to abrade it but you’ve got to get the loose stuff off because you can’t put good paint over bad paint, because the bad paint will continue to lift off and it’ll lift the good stuff with it.

ALBERT: Alright, guys. Thanks a lot for your time and courtesy.

TOM: You’re very welcome, Albert. Good luck with the project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.