Cedar Shake Siding - Advice on Paint removal

[Tami1982]

Hi there!

I bought my house three years ago and it had been freshly painted.  Cut to now - paint is coming off in sheets.  So I started peeling it up.  And then did what I thought you were supposed to do - pressure washed.  Needless to say, I damaged some of the shakes and am going to have to replace them.  For two weeks I've been peeling the paint off with my fingers and very carefully scraping, because the scraper seems to damage the shakes as well because they are ridged.  This is a giant pain in the butt! 

Does anyone have advice on how to do this better?  I have issues with my hands, so I can only do it a little at a time, but this is crazy.  I've been at it for two weeks and am not even 30% done with paint removal on a 500 sq ft house.   I want to do it RIGHT.  I don't want the paint to be falling off in 3 years, but there has to be a better way. 

Ideas?  The internets are inconsistent and it seems to mostly be random people.  I cannot find anyone with authority or experience talking about this issue. 

Thanks!

[seattlecyclone]

It's possible that your cedar is too old and worn to hold paint well anymore. If the wood wasn't primed on the back before it was painted (perhaps because it was originally stained or unfinished), moisture from inside the home could be getting into the wood from behind, bubbling under the paint, and ruining the appearance. Long-term, your best course of action may be to replace your cedar and do a better job preparing the wood than the people who did a quick paint job before selling you the house did.

[math-ya]

i would hit it with a pressure washer. start on a low setting and go up from there.  it sounds like it wasnt primed properly. hopefully you can get everything off with the pressure washer, then prime with an oil based, then paint.  maybe you could even stain if it looks good enough to do so. ceder shake is gonna do better over time with a stain vs a paint