Gina - no lead paint?? Yes, that's what I meant by "duration is good on new construction", LOL. Some use it quite successfully, as your guy says. I avoid it, because 98% of my work is on OLD, and badly neglected homes. All lead, all alligatored and most need heavy scraping.
I find if you topcoat that stuff with Duration, it 'pulls', and shortly thereafter the paint is coming off. Or worse...it 'bulges' on trim, under soffits etc and you don't notice it for 7 yrs...makes these pockets that later, you scrape open, and rot and dirt falls out
Holds the water in. I think Woodscapes as a prime is a fine idea, I do that often...if there is a deep color, or a change in color, that's the way I go...get it 'pre colored' AND primed! Nothing special about latex "wood primer" in that regard. You likely will have no troubles.
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Phil...you are spot on...wet it up, TSP/water, rinse, dry. Check for loose paint edges where it's come off, scrape/sand them w/80 grit and sand any bare places a little. To be sure it won't lift later (sound surface). You could blop but in this application, probably not a lot of benefit. A stain like Woodscapes will treat you well. But blop will not hurt as long as you let it TOTALLY dry first. Weeks! ANY oils under the 'scapes will bubble it (or any paint). It's actually very easy, no 'tricks'. I say stain cedar because it is known to emit oils, which again can cause trouble. And if it was painted w/latex - if you oil stain it, it will be a nightmare! The acrylic is compatible with about anything on there now.
For shakes, yes, spray - that gets in the cracks! I will NOT spray claps, that's just to industrial for what I do - but shakes, you basically HAVE to, most always. Play with the sprayer before you jump in if it's new to you
Or use a wagner power painter! But put it on reasonably heavy, and back-brush the section before moving on. Evens the application, makes sure no 'pookas' (little holes that didn't get filled w/product, or air bubbles that pop, revealing the subcoat). Yeah, you'll have the spalls showing (old paint edges, where it came off). That's the charm! Everything I do shows that unless otherwise specified - then it looks too new. Lightly sanding them eases the edges so they loo "old" and not "junky". Also lets water roll off the area.
Oh - primer....like Gina's guy says...just hit the bare spots w/woodscapes, and when dry paint over it. Stain is its own primer! If doing 2 coats, no prime, just apply the 2 times...
I agree on overhangs...old Capes here from the 1850s are great and usually last, BUT the ones with the skimpy (or missing) soffits - they tend to have rotted sills and other problems. I don't like to work on them for that reason.