Aging Cedar Siding

The home has cedar siding that is original from 1940.

Aging cedar siding.

Cover cedar siding with primer to keep any tannic acid or natural red coloring from. Cedar siding has a warm natural look. Using appropriate cleaning agents and other treatments will help to ensure that the siding will last many more years. To ensure longevity a bit of prep work needs to be done.

If you used 1 4 cup of vinegar add 1 4 cup of water. This is necessary if for example the old finish is severely cracked or is peeling. Wood aging solution based on vinegar. Transparent stains contain no pigment but have water repellent features that will help to retain natural tones and slow down the natural colour change process.

The chemical that cedarman referred to is probably ferrous sulphate. The horizontal siding is only 2 5 to the weather and has numerous layers of paint that are chipping and cracking. Fill the jar with the steel wool and vinegar the measurements don t have to be precise. A chemical stain will look more natural than a dye or pigment based stain.

And it is certainly not completely immune to rot no matter how well it has been treated and maintained. Hi all i recently purchased a charming 1940 farmhouse overlooking the water. Iron vinegar on fresh cedar lumber. Prep the cedar siding by cleaning it with a bleach and solution.

I don t know how it works on cedar but it works on pine spruce fir poplar and surely many others. Sand it to remove the loose surface particles. Soak some steel wool in white vinegar for a few hours or a few days the longer it steeps the darker the aged effect will be. Here s how to age wood and make it look old and gray.

There is one thing you must do however to hold onto that warm wood glow and that s restaining when your siding starts to look dull. I think that some treatment is better than no treatment. Fortunately it is usually possible to restore cedar siding before it gets to the stage where it needs replacing. Once untreated cedar shingles or cedar claps for that matter get a healthy dose of uv coating them can be problematic.

Restaining your cedar siding involves removing the old protective coating and applying a new layer of wood stain in the color of your choice then applying more protective coating. Exterior western red cedar surfaces only need to be refinished when the old coating has worn thin and no longer affords the wood protection. Cedar is known to age gracefully to a soft silver grey patina but it s wise to keep the rich tones of your cedar siding lasting longer. In refinishing painted or solid color stained siding and trim removal of the old coating may be required.

Cedar siding can last decades and it requires little maintenance to retain its natural beauty. It s commonly used to turn log cabins a weathered gray very quickly. Over time cedar siding can become discolored and the surface degraded due to weather dirt and various other wear and tear. I would like to save the siding and try to restore it.

If you plan on treating them do it now.