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Fill Gaps and Holes

Before painting wood siding, fill large holes and gouges with a two-part resin filler. You have to mix these setting types of fillers, but they stick better to wood than other fillers. Remove any paint around the area before filling. You can fill nail holes with them too.  

For small, shallow blemishes, use an exterior spackling compound. Cracks can be filled with exterior caulk after priming.

Overfill each wood siding repair and then shape it, once it has set, with a file, sharp chisel and sandpaper. Blemishes deeper than 1/2 in. will need additional applications. Once the patch is dry, shaped and sanded, prime it to protect it from moisture.

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Use a Pressure Washer to Remove Dirt and Old Paint

Paint just won’t stick to dirty or dusty surfaces. You’ll need to clean it even if there’s very little scraping to do, and the fastest way is with a pressure washer. You can rent a pressure washer from a rental store and get a lot of loose paint and grime off your old painted surfaces fast.

These washers kick out a hard stream of water, so try it out on an inconspicuous spot on the house to get the hang of handling the wand. When pressure washing a house, be careful not to hit windows (they can break), and don’t work the spray upward under the laps of siding. Remember, this is for cleaning, not blasting all the old paint off. Of course, some of the old loose paint will fall off, but too much pressure will gouge the wood.

Don’t try to pressure-wash while standing on a ladder. The recoil can knock you off balance. And finally, keep in mind that you won’t be able to do any scraping and sanding for a couple of days until the surface dries thoroughly.

If the prospect of using a pressure washer is just too intimidating, you can get a stiff brush on a pole and a bucket with mild detergent and scrub the surfaces. Follow the scrub immediately with a rinse from your garden hose.