If you are working with a rough wood such as sawn cedar your only choice may be to use a wire brush.
Best way to repair rough sawn cedar siding.
Make sure you fill the holes in your siding on a day with good weather so the filler.
Surface preparation is not necessary for textured cedar.
The wire brush can be attached to a power drill to speed up the process.
It s critical that you leave no void uncovered and.
Repairing minor defects in cedar siding step 1 use a putty knife to apply exterior wood putty to smaller cracks or holes in siding.
Stain rough cut cedar with the understanding that the initial application probably won t last longer than a year or so.
On flat grained wood the surface should be scuff sanded with 50 60 grit sandpaper.
With a porous material like cedar the main idea is to apply a greater quantity of paint to the wood and hand brushing is the best way to accomplish this.
Restaining cedar siding needs to be done to the siding over the years.
Over the course of that year the wood pores should open up a little bit and subsequent applications of stain will last longer as more product is able to soak into the siding.
This procedure will greatly increase the coatings performance but will not detract from a smooth finish.
To prepare the surface of rough cut cedar siding wash the siding down with a good wood cleaner and follow that up with an application of wood brightener.
Paint is your best option for treating cedar if your only intent is protection.
Epoxy putty is a commonly recommended wood filler for use in repairing woodpecker damage.
Overfill the entire hole in your siding when applying the filler.
Choose the optimal window of time for painting cedar it is recommended that you paint within two weeks of installing the cedar.
The wood cleaner will remove dirt gunk and grime that could be contaminating the surface of the wood.
Lighter colors last longer since they reflect light more efficiently than darker colors.
Treating cedar with primer and paint.
For smooth planed flat grained cedar some surface preparation may be desirable.
The fastest way to complete the job is to use a brush to cut.
Roller a brush is better at getting into corners but a roller is better at pushing paint into the rough surface of the wood.
Make sure that you wait no more than 12 weeks.
I usually get asked this question when a homeowner has a rough sawn cedar home.
Click on middle of picture below to play video that mark made about frequency of re staining your cedar home.