Painting Aluminum Siding

Painting Aluminum Siding

So you've purchased an old house from a friend and found its painted aluminum siding has already faded. Your question now is, can the aluminum siding be repainted? Well, it can and there's always a good painting option for you to consider.

Painting aluminum siding is but an easy task. It can be completed in just a matter of hours. However, although that simple, there are still some important steps to follow when painting aluminum siding. Some of these steps are mentioned below.

#1 Surface Preparation

Surface preparation simply means cleaning the aluminum siding. This should be taken before you mix up and apply your paint primer. But, how do you get your aluminum siding clean? Well, it's as easy as pie. Just use a cleaner specially designed for your aluminum siding. You can even use soap for it. Apply the cleaner and rinse the surface thoroughly to remove all the residues. If the surface needs to be scrub, then do it by using a pole sander. Spray the sander to the detergent and then scrub.

In this process, it is common to see old paint washing off. Well, note that this is just natural, so don't be alarmed. Instead, just proceed on rinsing your aluminum siding. Avoid damages if possible.

#2 Dry the Surface

Before painting aluminum siding, allow the siding first to dry for about several days. This is a good way of ensuring that your siding will be capable of handling new paints for long years.

#3 Apply the Primer

So you've got your best primer. Now, try applying it to the surface of the siding. Have it tinted to about one half strength of the color of the finish paint you are considering. However, if your siding is already painted with a latex paint and you are just repainting it, there's no need for you to use a primer coat. You can only use it if the condition of your siding is too poor. Now, if you want to apply a primer coat, choose an option that is water based.

#4 Apply Light Sanding

Before you apply your final finish coat, have the surface applied with a light sanding. Use a 150 grit sandpaper to do this. But, if you are just applying a latex coat to acrylic latex, then you might not need sanding simply for the fact that latex can handle latex well.

#5 Apply a Finish Coat

When painting aluminum siding with the finish coat, apply the surface within 2 days of applying the paint primer. Remember not to apply the finish coat in direct sunlight for that may lessen the amount of time for the paint to stay on the surface. Let the finish coat dry slowly for better results. So far, the best time to apply the finish coat when painting aluminum siding is during cool, but not windy days.