A 1962 Acton Cape Cod, original cedar shingles, three prior paint cycles. The homeowners had lived there 22 years and planned to stay another 20 — wanted a finish that wouldn't need redoing for at least a decade.
The challenge
Cedar shingles at 60+ years have differential paint adhesion — some shingles still hold prior layers fine, others have failed completely. South + west walls hit by UV are the worst.
What we did
- Per-elevation walk-through to grade paint failure: heavy / medium / light
- Heavy elevations: scrape to substrate, oil-bond prime bare cedar, two coats
- Medium: hand-sand transitions, spot-prime, two coats
- Light: pressure wash, sand transitions, two coats over sound paint
- Full caulk replacement at every trim joint (~720 linear feet)
- Back-brush after spraying to push paint into the cedar grain
The result
Cedar gets another 12+ years of life. Owner-spec finish — they're not flipping, they want durability.