Ether Jones wrote:
George E. Cawthon wrote:

I presume you are talking about a house or wood
construction outside. If it is old
construction is should have been painted or some
type of finish applied, As a result, washing
doesn't affect the wood (except in small spots
where the paint has worn or flaked off, and those
places should be scraped or sanded).

It's an 8-year-old exterior wrap-around porch with white cedar decking
and stairs, previously oil-primed and latex-topcoated.

There's a 200 square foot section (including stairs) that's in bad
shape. Large areas (as big as a postcard in some cases, or bigger) are
blistering (both paint and primer) revealing large patches of weathered
wood beneath (light grayish-brown).

I don't mind paying top-dollar for a quality paint if I just knew what
to buy and how to prepare the surface properly.

Sanding is out of the question; I don't want the mess, or the dust in
my lungs.

I was leaning toward power-washing, but you (and others) have said
don't wash bare wood, is that correct? (Or is this situation an
exception?)



If you wash the wood with water, it will raise the grain as it dries. I
think that would make the paint stick *better*.

You'd only need to sand it after washing (and then go over with tack
cloth) if you were gonna varnish it and try to get a fine finish.

Best regards,
Bob