Painting siding question

[Buford T. Justice]

Planning on painting my new hardie cement siding. Considering brushing, sponge pads or spray. What is the best method you have found. Ive heard pros & cons from friends whove used the 8" foam pads. Some say the loved them & others hated them.

Gonna be using first coat primer (siding came factory primed) then a coat of paint. Us ing Pratt & Lambert Suprime primer and then Partt & Lambert Accolade so coverage should be good

 

[Mike 47]

I rolled my cement board siding with a normal roller, not foam. Looks fine.

 

[Buford T. Justice]

Hmmmm, might have to try that too. How did you cover the underside lip, go back & brush it?

 

[tcianci]

Seeing how you will require some brush work anyway, I would stick to a top shelf 4" brush. That will allow you to do your cutting in and field coat with one tool. Lots of exterior coating manufacturers recommend back brushing a rolled finish anyway.

 

[dodgepolara500]

Brush or roll first them brush out. I always liked using a roller and brush combo since it gets the material on faster and then you can smooth down the orange peel from the roller. Mine was sprayed and that worked well too.

 

[twostory]

I used a airless spray system for my Hardiplank. This is the fastest method by far.

I sprayed a coat of Bullseye 123, then 3 hours later sprayed a coat of SW Duration Exterior. One coat of Duration was all I needed as Duration goes on twice as thick as normal paint.

 

[Buford T. Justice]

For those who have spreyed, how do you handle the windows, etc? tape/paper them off? I have installed the pre-painted steel soffit that will match my trim color. I wouldnt want overspray on that stuff. I already have a Wagner Power Painter. Would this work well in this application or would I go a different routh?

 

[twostory]

For those who have spreyed, how do you handle the windows, etc? tape/paper them off? I have installed the pre-painted steel soffit that will match my trim color. I wouldnt want overspray on that stuff. I already have a Wagner Power Painter. Would this work well in this application or would I go a different routh?

I taped/masked plastic over anything I did not want paint on. You can buy plastic on a roll with masking tape already attached. You stick it down, then unfold the end without the tape on it. It is around 3ft wide. This method is very fast to install.

Your power painter is really not big enough for this task. You need a big airless system like the one shown below. You can rent them, or try to find a slightly used one on craigslist.

 

[Buford T. Justice]

Great info! Thanks for the ideas. I'm going airless sprayer hunting.

 

[KMR Construction]

The only thing about the airless sprayer is cover everything withing 25' of where your working. The overspray goes everywhere. I have the same sprayer as shown and sprayed a pergula this weekend in 4hrs vs 2 guys for 2 days hand brushing

 

[Mike 47]

Hmmmm, might have to try that too. How did you cover the underside lip, go back & brush it?

Did the lip with a brush and then rolled the face of the siding. The cement board I used has a bit of a woodgrain texture to it, it doesn't show brush or roller marks.

 

[Leeboy20]

If your using a roller and brush... Pick a shady side, roll the length of the board, pushing the edge of the roller against the lip , come back with the brush on the lip and underside lip, then grab the roller with little paint on it and re-roll (back roll) , should cover and take the brush strokes away..

 

[Stuart in MN]

I used a Wagner power painter when I stained my garage. It's sided with cedar shingles, it did a good job of getting the stain in the gaps between the shingles and into the grain of the wood. After I sprayed a section I brushed it out with a brush to get rid of any sags and runs. It worked pretty well and went fast. My garage is 24x40 so I had a lot of area to cover, but the power painter did the job.

I masked off the windows and doors, but around the foundation and against the soffits I simply used a piece of cardboard with a straight edge - I held it up with one hand and sprayed with the other, then moved along the wall.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

Brush or roll first them brush out. I always liked using a roller and brush combo since it gets the material on faster and then you can smooth down the orange peel from the roller. Mine was sprayed and that worked well too.

Rolling and then brushing is incredibly fast and good looking.

 

[Ironcrow]

I just painted 600 sq ft building Hardi siding today. Used Wagner airless sprayer:
http://www.homeconstructionimprovem...ds/2009/02/wagner-airless-sprayer-150x150.jpg
It's the only way to go. I masked doors and windows and sprayed Sherwin Williams Duration over Sherwin Williams Exterior Wood Primer (supercedes old SW A100 primer). Did the masking, primer, and color coat all in one day with just one helper.

Spraying is the only way to go.