Approximately three years ago I sided my home with WRC. I had Cabot's Factory Finish applied. The first order of siding has been very prone to mold, and discoloration. The second (add-on) order has had no issues what so ever. Cabot has told me that the first order of wood has tannin bleed but can give no reason why this only happened to the first order of wood and not the second. What do you suggest? Right now based on what I have read I believe a good cleaning (again) and a solid acrylic stain will work best. Please advise.

Is the Cabot that you used previously a Solid Stain or a Semi-Transparent? Was it oil or water based?

The stain was a semi solid oil based product.

You should strip off the Cabot Stain prior to re coating with a new stain. Just "cleaning" is not good enough. Using a "solid acrylic" is basically painting your wood and will never look natural again. If this is the look you are looking for then this would be fine.

BTW the reason it attracted the mold is because you used an oil based stain. Oil-based stains can feed mildew growth. Using a water based stain would minimize or stop the mold. Saying it is tannin bleed is not true.

I've got alot to think about. Striping off stain from an entire house would be a huge challenge for me. We love the natural look of the wood but I'm not so sure I can handle this type of job. Anyway thank you so much for your help.

PS Why are you working on a Sunday? Just kidding.

Stripping is not as hard as you think. In a lot of cases it is actually easier. The stripper "softens" the bond between the old stain and the wood making it easier to wash off the stain with a pressure washer. You use less pressure as well. The easiest way to do this is inject the stripper through the pressure washer:
Injectable Deck Stripper

If you are looking for a contractor to do the work, we may have one in our database that can give you a quote. We would just need your City and State. I would give you their number so you could call them if interested.

Answering emails is not really work for me. Actually it is easier then cleaning up after the kids Xmas mess

I've done some reading/research and I like the Defy Brand but I do have a few more questions. (1) Which Defy product is right for me? (Original Synthetic maybe) (2) When it comes time to recoat will subsequent applications darken the wood/hide the grain? (3) Does a solid stain leave a film on the siding? Thanks

1. Defy Hardwood Stain is best for Cedar
2. Might darken a little but will not hide grain
3. Solid stains are basically paints so yes they film on top of the siding. Defy is a semi-transparent.