Damaged 2 x 6 Handrail Cap
The damaged 2 x 6 handrail cap in the
picture above is quite simply damaged by the elements of the weather.
The sun dries the wood out causing the paint to crack. Then the water
slips into the cracks causing the wood to swell up and expand. After
that the sun comes back and dries the wood out again. This process over
time creates this effect to most wood that has been painted but not
properly maintained.
The solution to this problem is scrape the loose paint off, then sand
the wood smooth. After that fill any large gaps with some sort of wood
filler. The next step is to paint the wood with a good exterior primer
(I recommend a good oil base paint ). Finally paint over the primer with
a nice coat of exterior paint.