Painting Metal Building

[sifa123]

I have a 20 yr old Morton pole barn type building that is 40x40 x 14. It's used more as a shed since I already have an attached 2 car garage. It is starting to rust on the corners from rain and wind, etc so I am going to paint it.

Should I use any primer first? If so, what kind?
Also, what type of paint do I use?

And I am of course, accepting tips and advice too!

 

[mad57]

we used rustoleum pro (only) oil based paint on ours and cool seal (white) on the roof looks like new . small roller and backed by a brush.

 

[nonhog]

Years back I just scrubbed the building with tide and water and sprayed latex
worked great , still looks good. Had no rust issues, you'll have to fix that !

 

[OldCarGuy]

I'd call the Industrial Marine Representative from Sherwin William's and ask their recommendations.

Three years ago I painted my 25 year old 30' by 50' metal building. I first powered washed it down with cleaner, followed by rinsing several times. Let dry for two hot summer days. Then primed it with Sherwin William’s PRO-CRYL acrylic primer. Followed by their high performance top coat. Using my airless sprayer on a windless day. Still looks great...

 

[daw53]

While it may not be the cheapest paint, I would try finding the local Sherwin Williams industrial line store (or other brand) and ask them for recommendations. They have all sorts of primers and top coats for different situations.

- David

edit - looks like I should have finished my post when I first started it - OCG beat me to it!

 

[jlbota]

I just did my two metal buildings last summer and I used jomax house wash which is mixed with bleach and water. And then used power clean on the tough spots. Applied with a pump up tank sprayer and then scrubbed with a long handled brush and rinsed it off. After it dried a few days I applied Sherwin Williams Super Paint...two coats with an air less sprayer. It turned out great and went pretty fast.
The Super Paint is good stuff I painted some bare aluminum and a few small buildings with it over 8 years ago and it is still holding strong. I thought for sure it might come off that aluminum in a few years or so.
They make paint you can go right over rust with and it stops the rusting altogether but the finish may not look that great.