Hi Guys, I'd recommend Sikkens hands-down! Particularly the newer "Log & Siding" product. If applied on nice, clean, & dry Cedar, it looks gorgeous. * It's a "sheen-building" coating...dries to a Satin finish...and the colors are beautiful. * TWO COATS, 24 hrs. apart required. * A neighbor down the street from us had their painter use the Sikkens Log & Siding, #078 Natural color. It looks stunning in my opinion! Cedar-shake siding...of varying darkness of course. * It's ~ a $400k house on a man-made lake. Rectangular stone on the bottom 1/3, and Cedar shakes on the upper. * They went through 3 5-gal. pails for the home...$360 per 5-gal. Usually ~ $74/gal. * I'm "pretty sure" they backprimed with a sealer, & the 2 coats of L & S on the outer. * We ordered about $3500 worth of various Sikkens products for one home last yr. in MN lakes country....uffda! * IF in full sun on the S & W sides, a light cleaning, possible spot-sanding, & a light "maintenance coat" are needed every 3 or 4 years. N & E sides can usually go 4 to 5 yrs. between maintenance procedures. * The whole point is to STAY AHEAD of harsh sun & weather degradation of a clearer finish. * Check out www.nam.sikkens.com * Bottom line, if prepped/maintained right, you won't go wrong with Sikkens. It's the "C2" of deck & siding treatments! Regards, Faron

I too vote stain. Just had our place re-stained (solid latex stain)after 15 years. I'd use a high quality or you may regret it. Latex stain will flake, but it doesn't peel like paint. Oil stain is different, you won't get either. However, I had oil on mine at one time, and I did get algae from where the sun doesn't hit on the siding (north side). Someone explained to me of why it happens with oil stain. If I wasn't so lazy, I could look it up! :) I'm not real crazy about the idea of power washing any wood. Real easy to force water into the fibers and destroy the wood. I don't believe paint will keep carpenter bees away. A relative has painted cedar, and there are bees galore. I spray my place down every year with an insecticide, but you have to be careful around flowers, don't want to kill those bees. I have no problem with carpenter bees.

I have a cedar sided house that I'm staining myself. I'm in the middle of a kitchen remodel too, and the "budget" (a term we now use only accompanied by bitter laughter and/or tears) wouldn't permit me to hire someone when I am capable of doing that particular job myself. At any rate, I've tried a couple different products and done a fair amount of checking around, and I've settled on Sikkens. We get it at a Benjamin Moore store very near the house. Ours is a solid, instead of a semi-transparent, but I'm still comfortable recommending this particular brand. I'm getting one-coat coverage over a dark brown, and I really expected to have to go with 2 coats. (When you're the painter, that makes a huge difference!) It's clear to me from how it goes on and the richness of the color that it's the best thing we tried. I've seen lots of good reviews by homeowners as well. So, one vote for Sikkens.

Because based on my research (reading and talking to Shweri Williams rep) paint tends to outlast staining? Maybe. Under ideal circumstances. But. Existing structure. No way to properly back prime the siding. No way to prime the cut ends of the siding. Stained siding breathes so any moisture that might migrate from the interior will evaporate vs getting trapped behind paint (leading to peeling paint). And your roof has next to zero overhang to help shield the walls from the elements. So, realistically, less than ideal circumstances for optimum paint performance. Before considering other variables like weather conditions during the job, painter experience & skill... No mention of the labor & material cost. To paint now, it is a minimum three coat job. Primer & 2 coats of paint. To repaint later will involve scraping, sanding, priming & paint. To stain now & restain later will require less material & a lot less labor cost. Agree with Cat and Roarah--I would go with a semi-transparent oil-based exterior stain.