Avoiding Problems When Painting Aluminum and Vinyl Sidings
By: Stephen Drommonsy
Submitted: 2010-10-20 06:43:24 | Word Count: 728
Anyone with older aluminum siding will be well conscious of the paint chalking problem. Just rub your hand across the old siding and the chalky mature paint will probably be all over your hand. Trying to get paint to stick to this will be a genuine problem. This is often as a result of oxidation in the paint. Siding manufacturers originally mentioned this problem as a "benefit". They called it, "self cleaning", as the paint literally washes from the house.
Older vinyl siding is also a problem. UV light fades vinyl siding over time and so the siding becomes very unsightly. Many unfortunate homeowners and contractors have experienced this disappointment when they repainted their homes, only to discover the new paint falling off a couple of months afterward. Both problems with older aluminum and vinyl siding can be overcome with proper cleaning, surface preparation and re-painting.
Cleaning
You will have to rent a powerful pressure washer with at least 3000 psi. You will want a pressure washer powerful enough to take away most of the old chalky paint off the aluminum siding and, to remove any dirt buildup. Start at the top layer of siding and work your way down. You will need to keep the pressure wand fairly near the siding surface to successfully take off the old paint. In some areas, you may find the paint comes off to the bare metal. Take care near windows, corners, soffits and doorways. The water under pressure, can be forced behind these areas producing a lot of damage. You could add TSP or other cleansing solutions into your reservoir for mildew, algae or other grime built up. You should allow your house to dry for several days in dry, sunny weather before proceeding with the painting process. If you are repainting vinyl siding or vinyl coated aluminum siding, you may need a surface de-glosser. This would be a solvent type product used to remove any shine on the surface and to help your first coat to stick better.
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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 rent at many tool rental places 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 outcome of the job. I like a latex paint additive called emulsa-bond for the first coat. Emulsa-bond is a bonding agent you will add to the very first coat of paint or primer to help it to bond to the old siding. Buy the very best grade exterior latex paint that you can afford, instead of oil or other solvent based paint. Latex paint appears to keep up with the expansion and contraction on the siding extremely well. The high quality latex paint I buy needs no primer. I add the bonding agent directly into the very first colour coat. Check with the paint supplier whether or not to make use of a primer. The rule of thumb is, when in doubt, use a primer. If you use a primer, add the bonding agent into it before applying. There is also bonding agents designed for oil or other solvent based paints. One type is named penetrol. These are likely to be obtainable from a painting contractor supply store. Where bare metal is exposed. I detest spot priming because it can lead to an uneven looking top coat. When I put a primer coat on, I prime the full area. This provides a consistent surface finish later on.
Finish Coat
Your top coat should be color only. You must check with the paint manufacturer to determine if you need one or two top coats after the bottom coat. Like I discussed above, buy the highest quality exterior paint that you can afford.
Author Resource:-
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