Finally got the paint to stop peeling on my old porch swing by mixing a bit of dish soap into the primer, a trick from a painter I met at the hardware store.

After two failed attempts that left the paint flaking within a week, I added a capful of Dawn to a gallon of oil-based primer, which finally let the topcoat stick properly to the weathered cedar.

3 comments

3 Comments

oscarh163mo agoProlific Poster

My buddy had this old garden bench that was a total paint nightmare. He tried everything, even sanding it down to bare wood. A retired contractor at his local store told him to stir a spoonful of liquid soap into the primer. He used some generic lemon-scented stuff, and that bench hasn't chipped in three years now.

thomas_johnson1mo ago

My neighbor tried that same trick on an old metal glider he found at a flea market. He used a squirt of Palmolive though, not Dawn, and said it worked like a charm. I was skeptical until I saw the thing after a rough winter and the paint hadn't bubbled at all. Kinda makes me wonder if there's some chemical reaction happening or if it really just cleans the surface that well. I might try it on my cedar fence posts next spring, see if it stops the peeling there too.

rivera.christopher3mo ago

That trick about the dish soap in the primer is a lifesaver. I had the same peeling problem on some old outdoor shutters. A guy at the paint counter told me the soap cuts through any leftover grime or wax that the cleaner misses. It makes the primer actually grip the wood instead of just sitting on top. I used the blue Dawn too, just a little splash, and the paint finally stayed put through a whole winter. It feels like a secret weapon they don't put on the can.