Just want to pass on my experience with my owner/builder Hardie Plank installation. I prepainted approx. 600 sticks of primed HP in a heated shop with a Cloverdale covercoat flat acrylic latex. (If you don't prepaint then the primed overlap never gets sealed correct?) I had heard of the chalking problem with HP, and so restacked the prepainted plank with heavy plastic wrap between each piece. The rumour at the time (2008) was that contact with the raw back of the hardie plank caused the chalking on the front. I gave the installed siding a 2ND coat of the Cloverdale,,, all for naught, I got chalking and fading within five years!!!!! I suspect the paint quality, even though we asked for the longest lasting paint they had. At seven years commenced repainting this 2 story house and its five, 12 in 12, 33ft. peaks, with BM Aura, rrrrrrr. The real reason I am posting is a discovery I made when siding my garden shed with the Hardie. I took to sealing the cut ends, front and back, plus the lower drip edges and the upper overlap with some oil primer I had kicking around. Then painting the finished job with the remaining Cloverdale. A few years later the chalking appears where primed hardie got only the latex paint, just like the main house. BUT NO CHALKING WHERE THE OIL PRIMER WAS APPLIED!!! See attached photographic proof. So don't be so fast to discount using an oil primer on your Hardie Plank! I have now primed shed with the oil primer from Home Hardware as a test, and will update how it pans out. Sorry for rambling long, Quadlock owner/builder, Norm

Caulk is for gaps and cracks, spackle is for nail holes.

All you need to do is raise temps to 55 degrees F. It doesn't matter where you paint them, as long as the paint is able to dry in the 55 or above temps. Duration is rated at 35 degrees and can be used successfully at those temps. Michael

It also means using an acrylic primer and then I assume an oil primer to keep the cedar from bleeding. You can choose Cover Stain primer by Zinsser. You don't need to two step the primer process. Primer is much different than paint. It is compatible with oil or acrylic finishes. I don't know what to use to remove this material, and what to replace it with so that the south side will look like the north and east. Is this filler material in a vertical or horizontal gap? It can be removed with a rotozip or dremel tool or something similar. They make a rasp bit to remove such things as grout, hardened caulk, etc. What to put back in? I need an answer to the question above before I can help you make that decision. I am wondering whether I should go ahead and strip all of this side so that the finished paint job will have the same look and sheen If you prime the entire surface, the paint sheen is usually the same. Test two small areas on the stripped and unstripped wall, 2 X 2 feet with primer and paint. If it matches, go for it. What is your finish coat? Oil or Acrylic? Michael Here is a link that might be useful: Primer