CP
PAINT CALCULATOR

Cedar Siding paint calculator

Cedar is beautiful and unforgiving. Its natural tannins are water-soluble and bleed through ordinary paint as yellow-brown streaks within months, so a <strong>stain-blocking primer is mandatory</strong> on bare wood. Rough-sawn cedar drinks paint at roughly 250 sq ft per gallon; smooth cedar stretches closer to 350. Plan on a primer coat plus two finish coats, and decide early whether you really want paint at all — on cedar, a solid-color stain that breathes often outlasts a paint film that traps moisture and peels.

House perimeter × wall height. Subtract windows + doors.

How much paint for cedar siding

Cedar Siding covers about 250 sq ft per gallon for a two-coat job. To find your siding area, multiply the house perimeter by the wall height and subtract windows and doors. For a typical 2,400 sq ft of siding, that's about 19.25 gallons of topcoat plus about 8 gallons of primer. Always round up to the nearest gallon — exterior batches are harder to color-match on a second trip.

In paint alone, that 2,400 sq ft example runs about $674–$1251 at $35–$65 a gallon for quality exterior acrylic, before primer and supplies. Enter your real siding area above and pick a brand in the result panel for an exact figure.

Stain-Blocking Primer Is Mandatory

Cedar and redwood carry water-soluble tannins and extractives that leach straight through standard latex primers, surfacing as ugly yellow or brown stains within weeks. Prime bare cedar with a dedicated stain-blocking primer — an oil-based or specialty stain-blocking acrylic — laid on as one full, even coat. Kompozit PRIME locks cedar tannins in a single heavy pass. Skip this and no number of topcoats will hide the bleed; you'll be repainting and still chasing brown streaks.

Solid Stain Often Beats Paint

Cedar needs to breathe and shed moisture. A solid-color stain penetrates the fibers and weathers by gradually thinning, lasting 7 to 10 years without peeling, while a paint film sits on top and traps any moisture that gets behind it — which is how cedar paint blisters and sheets off. Want grain to show? Use a semi-transparent stain. Want full coverage that's easier to maintain than paint? Solid stain is the smart middle ground.

Dry The Wood And Sand The Mill Glaze

New cedar leaves the mill with a smooth, slightly waxy surface called mill glaze that paint won't grip — scuff it with 80-grit so the primer can bite. Then check moisture: cedar must be below about 15 percent before you coat it, or trapped water pushes the finish off. Let fresh boards acclimate, give weathered cedar a couple of dry days after washing, and never paint damp wood, no matter how good the forecast looks.

Back-Brush, Caulk, And Seal Ends

Spraying alone bridges over cedar's texture and leaves thin spots; spray then immediately back-brush so primer and paint are worked into the grain. Cut-ends and end-grain wick water like a straw — seal every cut with primer before installation or before the next coat. Caulk vertical butt joints and trim gaps with a flexible paintable sealant, but leave horizontal lap bottoms open so the wall can drain and dry instead of holding water.

Exterior paint cost by brand

Coverage is similar across the major exterior lines, so the price tier is what moves your bill. Current per-gallon prices for the brands the calculator can price for you:

Brand & linePrice / galCoverage
Backdrop Exterior~$69/gal400 sq ft/gal
Behr Marquee~$52/gal400 sq ft/gal
Behr Ultra~$45/gal400 sq ft/gal
Behr Premium Plus~$33/gal400 sq ft/gal
Benjamin Moore Aura Exterior~$85/gal400 sq ft/gal
Benjamin Moore Regal Exterior~$70/gal400 sq ft/gal
C2 Paint Guard~$65/gal350 sq ft/gal
Diamond Vogel Artistry~$42/gal400 sq ft/gal
Diamond Vogel Palisade~$52/gal400 sq ft/gal
Dunn-Edwards Evershield~$72/gal400 sq ft/gal
Dutch Boy Maxbond Plus~$42/gal375 sq ft/gal
Glidden High Endurance Plus~$28/gal400 sq ft/gal
HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams WeatherShield~$50/gal375 sq ft/gal
Kompozit ONE~$40/gal388 sq ft/gal
Kompozit PRO~$52/gal388 sq ft/gal
Magnolia Home Exterior~$50/gal400 sq ft/gal
PPG Manor Hall~$55/gal400 sq ft/gal
PPG UltraLast~$48/gal400 sq ft/gal
Rodda Horizon Exterior~$56/gal375 sq ft/gal
Sherwin-Williams Emerald Exterior~$86/gal400 sq ft/gal
Sherwin-Williams Duration~$80/gal400 sq ft/gal
Sherwin-Williams SuperPaint~$60/gal400 sq ft/gal
Sherwin-Williams A-100~$49/gal400 sq ft/gal
Sherwin-Williams Resilience~$73/gal400 sq ft/gal
Valspar Duramax~$50/gal350 sq ft/gal

Frequently asked questions

Why does my cedar siding keep bleeding through the paint?+
Cedar's natural tannins are water-soluble, so every time the wall gets wet they dissolve and migrate up through ordinary primer and paint as yellow or brown stains. The only real fix is a dedicated stain-blocking primer — oil-based or a specialty stain-blocking acrylic — on every bare board before the topcoat. A standard latex primer, no matter how many coats, will not stop tannin bleed.
Should I paint or stain cedar siding?+
For most homeowners, stain is the better long-term call. Solid-color stain penetrates, breathes, and weathers without the dramatic peeling that paint suffers when moisture gets trapped behind the film, and it typically renews for 7 to 10 years. Choose paint only when you want a hard, fully opaque, glossy finish and you're committed to the prep and repaint discipline that cedar paint demands.
Do I need to sand new cedar siding before painting?+
Yes, lightly. Fresh cedar carries a slick mill glaze from the planing process, and primer struggles to bond to it. A quick scuff with 80-grit paper or a sanding sponge knocks the sheen off and gives the primer tooth. You don't need to sand to bare fiber — just dull the surface evenly, wipe off the dust, and the stain-blocking primer will grip properly.
Why is the paint peeling off my cedar siding?+
Cedar peeling almost always traces to moisture trapped behind a paint film — from painting damp wood, missing primer on end-grain, poor wall ventilation, or skipping the breathable-finish question entirely. A rigid paint coat can't let the wood dry, so water pressure pushes it off in sheets. Drying the wood first, sealing cut ends, and considering solid stain are the durable answers.
How often does painted cedar siding need recoating?+
Painted cedar usually needs attention every 5 to 8 years, while solid stain stretches to 7 to 10 and fails more gracefully — it fades rather than peels. Exposure drives the timeline: south and west walls weather fastest, and any spot where tannin bleed or moisture got in will need spot-priming sooner. Washing the siding every couple of years buys you extra life.
Can I paint over old stained cedar?+
You can, but it takes real prep. Scrub off dirt and any loose or chalking stain, sand glossy or peeling areas to a sound surface, and let the wood dry completely. Then apply a full stain-blocking primer coat — old stain plus reactivated tannins will bleed through paint otherwise. Going from stain to paint is a one-way door, so be sure before you commit the wall to a paint film.
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