We recently moved into a historical home, and while removing the crumbling Masonite hardboard siding, we discovered beautiful wood dutchlap siding beneath. We want to restore this wood since we love historical homes! My boyfriend is a contractor, but neither of us has experience stripping wood siding. We have a couple of key questions:
1.) What's the best method to remove the old paint? The paint is quite old and flaking, and we're taking all necessary lead precautions. We've started scraping, but it's a slow process, and we need to finish by May due to insurance requirements. We want to avoid power washing or sand blasting the siding to prevent any damage and because there are unfilled nail holes. We considered a paint shaver pro but found it pricey and hard to rent in our area.
2.) Should we paint or use solid stain? Initially, we aimed for historical craftsman colors with paint, but after watching some videos, we learned that solid stain might be a better option since it allows wood to breathe and resists chipping. We're leaning towards using an oil-based primer and Sherwin Williams Emerald Rain Refresh. Our wood is in great shape, and we want to maintain it while ensuring durability and minimizing future maintenance needs. We believe the wood is Douglas fir.
1 Answer
I'd recommend grabbing a sample of the paint for analysis to check for lead and the type of paint. If the analysis comes back fine, you can just scrape off the flaking areas without needing to strip it down to bare wood. Just make sure you stick with a similar type of paint – mixing modern acrylic paint with traditional linseed oil can lead to problems. Many historic homes used paints like "slam färg," which is awesome but don’t mix well with modern options. Just focus on what you can do without over-complicating it!