Caulking Wood Siding Before Painting

There are several different types of caulking on the market.

Caulking wood siding before painting.

Scrape away any peeling paint adjacent to the caulked areas. Also any butt joints and joints at the peak of diagonal fascia boards. Don t caulk the horizontal joints on siding where the siding courses overlap. Though you can prime before or after caulking under normal circumstances priming first yields better results.

This can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars to eradicate. The tiny hole lets out just enough caulk to fill typical small to medium size cracks. Let the caulk cure for a few days before power washing the exterior. If doing so exposes bare wood recaulk all cracks between any two nonmoving materials.

A common mistake is to cut off too much of the caulk tube tip leaving a hole that s way too big for most interior caulking work. The places on the exterior of the house that need careful caulking before painting would be the fascia board joints of the overhang. When you re filling small cracks to prepare for painting cut the tip carefully to keep the hole tiny about 1 16 in. The nails holding up the siding should not be caulked.

Old caulking that has failed and allowed water to migrate behind the siding can cause wood rot decay and if left undetected mold will most likely grow in your walls. Some specialty caulks may need a primer before paint is applied but most caulking is paintable. A diyer or a novice painter might attempt to achieve a cleaner look by caulking the siding nails but the nail is guaranteed to push the caulking material out within a few months. Particularly at the corners where they are mitered together.

The different kinds of caulking for your home. The next place would be the soffits or the plywood underneath. Caulk should dry before painting over it otherwise it can cause new paint to crack and warp. For caulk that will be painted over a latex caulk should be used.

Before beginning a do it yourself painting project learn the proper preparation procedures or you may end up making the job harder than necessary.