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Caulk COAT under primer? An entire layer.

15 years ago

Our painter is prepping the wood exterior of our house to repaint. On one badly sun-aged side, he has stripped it down to the wood and sanded it smooth(40's era cedar siding).

It seems he has now begun to spread a very thin layer of siliconized caulk over the bare wood. He's applying it with a wet rag, so it goes on almost transparent.

I believe his aim is to fill some of the tiny cracks in the wood.

BUT, I'm worried that this layer will prevent the oil-based primer from doing its job.

Have you heard of this practice?
Is it a bad idea? He's only covered a portion of one wall so far, so I can stop him before he goes any further.

Thanks

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Comments (8)

paintguy22
15 years ago
It's probably not a huge deal, but the rule is prime first, then caulk and do repairs. If you are talking about sealing the wood with primer, then yes the primer will not penetrate the caulk to do that.
David G
Original Author
15 years ago
But, isn't sealing the wood an important part of prepping for repainting?

I'm talking about a thin coating of caulk over an entire bare wood wall. I assumed the purpose of the oil primer was to seal the wood and give the topcoat something to stick to.

Will the caulk cause the paint to fail if the primer doesn't penetrate into the wood?

I'll be relieved if it's really not a big deal.
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Michael
15 years ago
The caulk will not cause the paint to fail. The primer over the caulk will provide excellent adhesion for the paint.

Michael
Faron79
15 years ago
Bad or good...I have NEVER heard of THAT B4!!!!!!

Is it a Siliconized Acrylic?
If it's all Silicone, you're/he's in trouble...
What exact caulk is it?

Faron
Michael
15 years ago
Faron,

I don't think the OP really means "entire layer" of caulk, covering the wood. I think the OP refers to caulk in the nooks and crannies of wood, wiped with a wet cloth to smooth and tool it in place.

That's done quite often on cedar, redwoods and other woods that have minor splits in house siding.

If it's not an acrylic, the painter will know in a few minutes.

Michael
David G
Original Author
15 years ago
Faron and Brushworks,

He's using a siliconized acrylic caulk.

As for the thickness of this layer. It's super thin and nearly translucent. Brushworks' explanation that it's filling the cracks/nooks makes sense. But it's not just in spots. It looks kind of like the wood's been whitewashed.

Looks like it would repel water, though, or at least hinder penetration of a primer. Maybe primers aren't supposed to penetrate and I'm worrying from ignorance.

Someone described this to me as old school and not a problem. Y'all agree?
paintguy22
15 years ago
I don't know if it's old school. But, I do know that it's much easier to prime first and then you can see more clearly all the areas that need to be filled. The primer is going to fill some of the smaller cracks. It's best to caulk after primer. Plus, caulk will always adhere to a high quality primer better than it will to raw wood. The primer doesn't really need to penetrate because the caulk has done that. The painter would really have to be an idiot to use silicone caulk that he can't paint. Usually, it is the carpenters that do that to us!
PRO
Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
15 years ago
Usually, it is the carpenters that do that to us!

Them and the tile guys, bad men.

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