Cedar Siding
Hey guys. I've got Cedar Shakes for siding. My issue is that it tends to start turning black after a year or so. It gets some sort of grime on it. I have to pressure wash it every summer. Some that's up high has gotten really grimy though, because it's hard to get with the pressure washer. I was wondering if anyone new of any combination of products that I could use to make it last longer in its natural color. I don't want to paint it. I like the natural cedar color. Is there some sort of grime cleaner I can get to get the really dark ones cleaned? I was thinking I'd like to be able to clean it well, maybe put a toner on it to get them all looking closer to the same color, and then maybe some sort of sealer to keep some of the grime off, or at least make it easier to pressure wash. Can anyone recommend specific products? Thanks. Welcome to the forums! I usually use bleach to clean with and then rinse with a pressure washer. There are also several commercially prepared cleaners that are more diy friendly. A toner or translucent stain would be a good choice. You might want to have a little extra mildewcide added to the stain. The stain is a sealer and requires no additional sealer. You'll find the best coatings at your local paint store - not a big box paint dept. Yep, this is not really any different than a deck made of cedar Left alone, it will turn grey to black. A clear or semi-transparent stain is the best choice Excellent. Thank you for the quick responses. I've checked out a couple of products for cleaning. Does this Oxygen Bleach (specifically Stain Solver- AsktheBuilder.com Stain Solver ) work, or is it just a marketing gimmick? I also found this product on Amazon while searching for a garden sprayer- Amazon.com: Wet and Forget 10587 1 Gallon Moss, Mold and Mildew Stain Remover: Home Improvement It's got great ratings. One of the two is probably what I'll go with. Just wondering if anyone's had any experience with either. Best I can remember, I've never used any oxygenated bleach but either one should do a decent job. I use regular laundry bleach - there are better products but this stuff is dirt cheap and does a pretty good job When I built my OWN house,25 years ago, (I have worked on hundreds) I spent the extra bucks for cedar siding. Beautiful, for about 9 months, then it went, and I mean went fast. I couldn't keep up with it. I kick myself for putting that crap on my house. I have boards coming off, stains like crazy, nothing cleans it less than a 500 HP pressure cleaner, the spiders love it. The squirrels run right up and down it like nothing. That concrete siding was brand new then, and I wish I bought it, because you can paint it to look just like cedar! Oh well. I learned my lesson. I did buy mildew resistant 25 year shingles, and they are actually holding up after 25 years. Regular laundry bleach isn't going to harm or bleach the natural color from my cedar shakes though is it? It shouldn't, basically you are removing the mildew that helped turn the siding black, it is also somewhat effective at removing the grey weathering. You don't want your bleach water solution to be any stronger than 50/50 or let it dry on the siding! I usually wet the wood, spray on the bleach solution, let it set but not dry and then rinse with a pressure washer. I use the same process as Mark except I don't have a pressure washer, I just rinse it off with the hose Here's a picture of my siding after bleaching it once: Yfrog Image : yfrog.com/1ndsc01413pgj You can see how the colors and the mildew removal are pretty inconsistent. The siding's always been pretty inconsistent, and I don't mind it like that, but I'm just wondering if I should bleach it again to get the rest of the mildew off, or should I stain it at this point? I know that mildew can grow through the stain, so I don't want to leave the black on there, but I'm afraid that if I bleach it again, those lighter spots will get even lighter, and they're pretty light already. My deck was almost black before I figured out the builder wasn't coming back to seal it for me. I bleached it twice until it was almost white. After I stained it, the neighbors claimed I had the best looking deck in the neighborhood. Ok, cool. I'll probably bleach spray it one more time, and scrub the dark spots, then rinse with a pressure washer this time. I already bought semi-transparent latex cedar stain. Do you think that will be enough to darken up a bit, or should I take it back and get a solid stain? Your siding definitely needs further washing. If it cleans up the way I would expect it to - semi-transparent should do fine. All right, here are a couple of updated pictures after the second bleaching: ImageShack Album - 2 images I used a pressure washer to rinse this time, and it definitely helped. In the first picture, the darker spots on the right are just shadows. It definitely looks better from the first bleaching, and way better than it was before any bleaching. Do you think it's good enough to stain now? The lower row of shakes is still pretty dark. I think that that is more mold than mildew. I had my wife pick up some mold killer stuff, and I've applied it once and rinsed. I think it helped some. I'm going to apply it one more time. Anyway, good to go now, or should I have one final round of bleaching? By the way, you guys have been a great help. I told my wife I'd have to refer to my online consultants to see if the siding needed one more bleaching before we proceed. You've made the process much more quick and smooth than it would have been had I not conferred with you. Thanks a lot! That bottom row still needs some work but otherwise I think it looks good Originally Posted by Jephph I told my wife I'd have to refer to my online consultants ....... Where do we send the bill? The siding looks a lot better now While it wouldn't hurt to go over any problem spots, overall it should stain ok with semi-transparent.... just make sure the siding dries thoroughly before applying your stain. What can one do in installing new cedar shingles to obtain this grey, beach-house look without all the maintenance: paint/stain for the right color? bleaching oil and weather? brine wash? apply compound before or after installing shingles. The gray look will come very shortly if you do nothing after installing the shingles Water and sun light!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Has anyone tried this type of product on cedar shake siding with the hope of obtaining the grey look without getting the black mildew problems previously mentioned? Bleaching normally gets rid of the grey - what exactly is bleaching oil? It's probably been 30+ yrs since I've used any bleaching oil. If I remember correctly it accelerates the aging of wood but mostly it gives the wood a faded lighter look, not so much a grey.
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