painting cement board siding

Hello all,
I have a very old house that originally had clapboard siding on it.
It was covered (no idea when) with that fiber cement board siding. There was about 50 or so busted tiles that needed to be replaced, so I was thinking about tearing it all off and installing Vinyl siding. That was until I found 4 bundles of tiles in the attic. Read the packaging and sure enough it was full of asbestos. I've read asbestos is extremely expensive to dispose of and you need a licensed/certified pro do handle it, at least in Il. So I just replaced all the busted tiles but now it needs a fresh coat of paint to look nice.

My questions are,
1)Is there is any out of the ordinary prep work that needs to be done to this stuff before painting? Will it need to be primed first?
I've read a little about this stuff and it apparently takes paint well, but I keep reading conflicting articles about primer and how well it will take paint.
2)I have a power washer and plan to wash the siding before all of this, but will using a power washer disturb any of the asbestos fibers? As I understand it, the asbestos is perfectly safe as long as it is not
busted up/airborne/inhaled.
If a power washer is safe to use, is a simple general purpose cleaner good enough? Or just straight water?

Thanks for any advice and/or tips

Dave

I don't know if anyone is old enough to know much about this stiff, except when it was knew oil base paint is all they had and good for you, nobody finds leftovers laying around.

My grandfather had it on his house and he worked in a forge shop and they would give him buckets of white lead grease and he would mix it with linseed oil and make his own white paint. Talk about a carcinogenic cocktail. He painted it every 5 years or so and he only lived to be in his 90’s. Lots of houses around here with it that have been vinyl sided over it. They put on the ½ inch fanfold foam on and tape the seams and then put the vinyl over it. For some reason you can’t drill a hole in it but nails go right thru. Once its encapsulated there is nothing to worry about. I don’t know if it’s kosher or not doing it but a lot of them get covered up.

Neal, I was really surprised I found those bundles. I actually priced some new hardie board tiles and they are pretty pricey. I think it was a bundle of 12 for a little over $100.

Bud, a big reason I was thinking I couldn't just cover it is because of the clap board. That + the depth of the cement board + the pink foam board + vinyl siding is just too much. The cement board would have to come off. And two estimates over the phone for the size of my house to remove and properly dispose of asbestos siding was in the range of $13-16 grand. That's not doable for me money wise.
That's why I just replaced the broken tiles and decided to just paint it.
My biggest concern is the power washer...if it is going to bust up the asbestos fibers being hit with 2200 psi?

2200 might be a bit much, just stand back a little ,you only need to clean it. They just add more wood to the trim when they cover this stuff. It's not just this stuff I have seen all kinds of siding covered the same way.

No, I think you misunderstood. It was a bundle of 12 tiles for $100.
And there were about 50 tiles that needed to be replaced. And of those 50, about 30 were more than just a crack...either cracked in half, big chunks missing, big hole in it or completely missing. I have all the ones that absolutely had to be replaced done. There's a couple way up high that can't really be seen from the ground...up about 35 feet. I have a tall house.
I would have bought them if I had to, turns out I didn't have to.

In any event, the house needs more than just a good cleaning. About 60% of the house is either peeling paint or completely faded which makes it look nasty and mismatched with different colored tiles. looks god for the Halloween season, kinda spooky, but in general, not so pretty.
My wife wants a whole different color anyway. A charcoal grey, so it will be painted.

also, when I say I'm concerned about the asbestos fibers being broken, it's not so much about me inhaling it as it is about the tile breaking. As I was replacing the broken tiles, I learned how easy they are to crack. 2200 PSI hits hard ya know

Now I get a better picture, if you need more I know a lady in Iawa looking for a vallunteer to remove some.
How thick is this stuff? Have you got any chunks big enough to do a test wash with pressure? Have you tested other methods like a stiff brush and a hose, or wire brush, Keep it wet and wear a mask.

Didn't find a cost but these people sell a replacement that matches the old stuff.
http://www.gaf-weatherside.com/?gclid=CLvI8pvW5sgCFYZlfgodvZUAQQ

I'm good on replacements. Don't have any more that need to be replaced. Couple that have a small crack in them, but can't be seen from standing on the ground and they are tucked in under the soffit way up high. I'll prob just smear some caulk over the crack to keep water from seeping in
I wish I thought about testing the pressure washer on an old piece as I tore them off. but tossed them all out.
I guess I'll just hit an inconspicuous spot and see how they handle the pressure.

My pressure washer has an assortment of tips. That and you can always adjust the distance. You will be fine with the washer. It was common to put this stuff up over wood siding back in the day. It is also now common to go over those 2 layers with the vinyl siding with the ½ foam. For future reference. These siding guys have all kinds of tricks to make windows look right when they add an extra layer.