Avoiding Problems When Painting Aluminum and Vinyl Siding

Anyone with older aluminum siding will be well aware of the paint chalking problem. Just rub your hand across the old siding and then the chalky mature paint will probably be all over your hand. Trying to get paint to stick to this could be a genuine problem. This is as a result of oxidation in the paint. Siding manufacturers originally referred to this problem as being a “benefit”. They called it, “self cleaning”, because the paint literally washes off the house.

Older vinyl siding is also a problem. UV light fades vinyl siding over time and the siding becomes very unsightly. Many unlucky homeowners and contractors have experienced this dismay when they repainted their homes, only to discover the new paint falling off several months down the road. Both problems with older aluminum and vinyl siding might be overcome with proper cleaning, surface preparation and re-painting.

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Cleaning
You will have to rent a powerful pressure washer with at least 3000 psi. You will need a pressure washer powerful enough to remove most of the old chalky paint off the aluminum siding and, to remove any dirt build up. Start at the top course of siding and work your way downward. You will have to hold the pressure wand fairly close to the siding surface to successfully take off the old paint. In some areas, you may find the paint comes away to the bare metal. Be careful near windows, corners, soffits and doorways. The water under pressure, could be forced behind these areas creating a lot of damage. You could add TSP or other cleaning solutions into your reservoir for mildew, algae or other grime built up. You must allow your house to dry for several days in dry, sunny weather before proceeding to the painting process. If you are repainting vinyl siding or vinyl coated aluminum siding, you may need a surface de-glosser. This is a solvent type product used to get rid of any shine on the surface and also to help your first coat to adhere better.

Application
I like to use a commercial type airless sprayer. It will draw the paint directly from your 5 gallon paint pails, through the hose and into your spray gun. They are available to hire at many tool rental locations as well as some paint supply stores that supply contractors.

Priming
This step is equally as critical as the step above. Actually, the cleaning and surface preparation phases will make or break the results of the job. I prefer a latex paint additive called emulsa-bond for the very first coat. Emulsa-bond is a bonding agent that you add to the first coat of paint or primer to help it to bond with the old siding. Buy the best grade exterior latex paint that you can afford, instead of oil or other solvent based paint. Latex paint seems to hold up with expansion and contraction on the siding very well. The top quality latex paint I buy needs no primer. I add the bonding agent directly into the initial color coat. Check with the paint supplier whether or not to make use of a primer. The guideline is, when in doubt, use a primer. If you use a primer, add the bonding agent into it before putting on. There is also bonding agents available for oil or other solvent based paints. One type is called penetrol. These are usually available at a painting contractor supply store. Where bare metal is exposed. I loathe spot priming because it often leads to an uneven looking top coat. When I put a primer coat on, I prime the entire area. This offers an even surface finish later on.

Finish Coat
Your top coat should be colour only. You must check with the paint manufacturer to see if you need one or two top coats after the base coat. Like I discussed above, buy the very best quality exterior paint that you can afford.

Being a Landlord myself I have come across many problems over the years. Choosing the right paint and colours to use. So I always have my properties painted and by the identical painter London firm, through the years they’ve saved me a lot of money just by giving me with some good advise.

By: Drummonsys