Primer on wooden siding?

[Suzie-Q]

I'm removing (and replacing) the wooden siding on part of the exterior of my house. It looks like the old siding wasn't painted until it was up on the house, and I don't see any signs of primer being used at all.

I was planning to use primer on all sides (front, back, top, bottom, ends) of the new siding, doing so before it goes up on the house. Should I? Or is there some problem with the surface/wood "breathing" that would make priming a bad idea?

Thanks in advance.

[Abe]

There is no issue with priming any type of wood. You should definitely prime it with a good quality outdoor primer.

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[Doug Miller]

And if it's redwood or cedar, you should use an oil-based primer to prevent the tannins in the wood from bleeding through.

[George E. Cawthon]

You can prime all sides and it probably helps but also probably not much. None of the siding I have seen is primed on the back side including the standard pressboard type used on most new houses.

I would save my efforts for something more useful like putting finish on the undersides, backs, and other surface not usually seen on furniture. It's no wonder so much of it warps and/or goes to pieces.

[Bob Joesting]

I can't think of how it would hurt anything but it sounds like a waste of primer and time. I am doing similar work on the 80 or 90 year old siding on my house. I am cleaning off all the old finish I can and putting oil based primer on the surfaces that will be exposed.

Bob

[m Ransley]

A waste of time priming all sides. Use regular slow drying oil primer , it is better than latex