Who has painted vinyl siding?

[ripsnortMN]

Hey guys. My garage is light yellow in color and was planning on residing it with a darker grey/blue to match the house. Somebody told me you can paint vinyl siding. Anybody done this successfully?

 

[Justanoldguy]

Probably

 

[nehog]

IIRC, there is a thread on painting vinyl siding here. Probably Google will turn up some good hits as well.

However, I believe that it is possible to paint it, though I think you will need to find the 'right' paint. I do know of someone who stained vinyl siding, and he felt the results were good--however, stain does limit your choice of colors.

 

[bjtstarfire]

Use a product called STIX and you should be fine.

http://www.insl-x.com/viewCat.asp?catID=53

Ben

 

[Gary S]

Plastic siding is a short lived product. Paint is even a shorter lived product. Are you sure you want to go there?
Rip it off and put on something durable like steel siding in the color you want.

 

[djkeev]

Really investigate this. Plastic is by its very nature difficult to paint, well not to paint but to have lasting paint adhesion to it.

They do paint automobile bumpers which are plastic but require special priming and flex agents added to the finish coat.

A 12' length of vinyl siding can change about 1/4" +/- in the course of a day. (ok, maybe am 1/8" but that is still a significant rate) If you wake up at 6AM and its 30 degrees, but by 3PM the sun is shining directly on it and the temps have raised to 70 degrees. Not only did it get longer, it got wider as well which is why you see the bottoms of vinyl so often unhooked from the course below it. A combination of poor installation and wild temperature swings.

I'm saying this to illustrate the fact that paint on vinyl needs to be able to stretch and contract with the product itself.

Auto paints put in the elasticizers for hitting an object which allows for the paint to bend and spring back with the plastic itself and not simply crack and peel off.
What's that? Your car has cracked bumper Paint? It's been poorly repainted by a body shop looking to save a few $$'s on the job and they failed to add the flex agent! Or, you've hit way too many things or one thing way too hard!

My advice? Replace the siding, vinyl ***** the big one anyway, isn't water proof and looks like plastic ****! Oh wait....... it IS plastic ****!

Dave

 

[darkk]

Plastic siding is a short lived product. Paint is even a shorter lived product. Are you sure you want to go there?
Rip it off and put on something durable like steel siding in the color you want.

Really? I see lots of homes with plastic/vinyl siding that has been on for many many years. It doesn't look any worse than any of the other siding products. I do however see plenty steel siding that is all rusted or dented up looking like ****. Paint, there is a house down the street that had some kind of special vinyl paint that still looks good. Don't know how long it will last. They spent enough time prepping before painting. It has a lifetime warrantee.

 

[Gary S]

Yes, really.

My house has steel siding from 2001. My garage has vinyl siding from 2004. The steel looks like new. The plastic has faded, and parts of it have been replaced twice already after hail storms that punched holes completely through it while the steel on the house suffered no damage.

The vinyl is going to be ripped off and replaced with steel as soon as I can afford it.

 

[djkeev]

Really? I see lots of homes with plastic/vinyl siding that has been on for many many years. It doesn't look any worse than any of the other siding products. I do however see plenty steel siding that is all rusted or dented up looking like ****. Paint, there is a house down the street that had some kind of special vinyl paint that still looks good. Don't know how long it will last. They spent enough time prepping before painting. It has a lifetime warrantee.

Sadly, vinyl causes the house itself to become a short lived product. There is a very real problem of houses rotting from the outside in Because of the poor moisture properties of Vinyl!
Vinyl lets moisture in and in many situations holds it nicely against the wood which it is "protecting"!
Add to that the fact that I've NEVER seen vinyl properly installed by anyone! If you read the installation guide, it requires very involved steps of proper water proofing steps before siding is installed. The common technique is a house wrap (Tyvex or similar) and then install J moldings and then the siding. A technique that is Trouble just sitting and waiting to happen........

Here's an interesting link that scratches the surface on the future of vinyl sided houses. Not only vinyl, but any poorly installed siding product.

http://www.architecture-network.net/ani/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=91

Dave

 

[CARS]

I painted vinyl siding for someone who needed to patch in a spot after a remodeling project.

They had discontinued that color. It looked good 15 years ago, but haven't seen the house since. We used a abrasive plastic prep compound and an adhesion promoter before applying flattened automotive paint.

BTW, flex additives are added to automotive paints to keep the paints flexibility while the parts are handled/installed. The additive evaporates out of the clear with the other solvents within a couple months.

 

[JimVonBaden]

Yes, really.

My house has steel siding from 2001. My garage has vinyl siding from 2004. The steel looks like new. The plastic has faded, and parts of it have been replaced twice already after hail storms that punched holes completely through it while the steel on the house suffered no damage.

The vinyl is going to be ripped off and replaced with steel as soon as I can afford it.

It probably depends on the environment. In ND you get some extremes that would make vynle less than ideal. In VA, vynle holds up extremely well. The quality of the material helps as well.

In VA Aluminum and steel siding doesn't hold up as well. The paints on them peal and the steel rusts. They get dented from hail, and generally look unatractive in a few years.

Jim

PS I am very glad I have HardyPlank siding, but even that has maintenance issues.

 

[Herb]

I think Sherwin Williams Duration is made to use on vinyl siding.

 

[Gregger Rod & Custom]

The only insight I can add I learned from a local restaurant which painted a light colored siding DARK Green.... and the siding on the wall facing the sun wrinkled up! It looked like it had been too close to a BBQ.

This was in Canada.... Not Arizona.

My guess is that siding manufactured in dark colors may be a different composition of plastic to allow it to deal with the increased heat absorption.

Hope this helps,
Gregger

 

[billybek]

The only insight I can add I learned from a local restaurant which painted a light colored siding DARK Green.... and the siding on the wall facing the sun wrinkled up! It looked like it had been too close to a BBQ.

This was in Canada.... Not Arizona.

My guess is that siding manufactured in dark colors may be a different composition of plastic to allow it to deal with the increased heat absorption.

Hope this helps,
Gregger

I have seen this a couple of times in the area that I live in.
The darker colour that the siding was painted during a flipper reno really caused the siding to shrink and change shape.

 

[hdridinas1]

I have been researching this as my wife wanted to do it. I cam up with, it can be done when going from a dark to light color, but not done when going from light to dark. As stated before, its because of the heat and how its absorbed. You have to use a lighter color then what you have now. If you have white, you are screwed.....

 

[mysta2]

...BTW, flex additives are added to automotive paints to keep the paints flexibility while the parts are handled/installed. The additive evaporates out of the clear with the other solvents within a couple months.

Sorry that I don't have anything to add to the vinyl siding conversation, but I have to pipe in that this (at least with PPG paints, which I use every day) is untrue. Flex agents make paint porous in order to alleviate surface tension, these pores do not evaporate. As an annoying side note this process also changes the tone of the color (usually lightens it) and obviously effects the sealing properties of the paint. Which makes it really hard to match, and a last resort to use.

 

[Zeke]

I have been researching this as my wife wanted to do it. I cam up with, it can be done when going from a dark to light color, but not done when going from light to dark. As stated before, its because of the heat and how its absorbed. You have to use a lighter color then what you have now. If you have white, you are screwed.....

Finally a post that is intelligent. And with the right paint formulation. Yellow to blue (a lighter blue) would not be a problem. Jeld Wen is offering a vinyl window painted dark over white outside only. FWIW.

 

[darkk]

Well, I guess by reading some of the answers here, there is good and bad in all of the siding choices. And now I do remember vinyl siding being able to be painted..whether that is a smart move or not is another story I guess.

 

[Rust]

I'd just hang new vinyl..then again thats what I do...
Little bit more money..but you get a better finished product.

 

[54FordPanel]

I painted my vinyl siding about 5 years ago on my old house. I used Kwal paint, and I think it was called Liquid Vinyl. It's rated for vinyl siding.

I pressure washed the whole house first (very important) and used Kwal primer, then the Kwal paint.

I don't live there anymore, but my sister does, and it still looks great. I used a sprayer. I would not try to brush it on.

Vinyl siding abosutely will expand and contract, so you need to get paint that is rated for it.

 

[nehog]

Plastic siding is a short lived product...

No it is not, quality vinyl siding lasts a very long time. The siding on my house is almost 30 years old, and looks almost as good as it did when new (we got the house new, btw). Other houses in the neighborhood built at the same time are also looking good. A few houses with wood siding do look a bit tired, however.

 

[Big-Foot]

I just did mine last fall. I used MaxBond from Menards.. I did a light tan over white and it covered well and looks great. I pressure washed first. I'd use it again based on my experience so far. I also imtentionally tried to remove some of the Max Bond on a test piece and it's adhesion is really good.

 

[1948]

when we paint plastic car parts we scuff them with scotch brite pads that gives the paint a little bit more bite.

 

[ripsnortMN]

Well the siding that is currently on the garage is about ten years old. It looks fine it's just that its yellow in color. The house is cedar shakes with a blue/grey color. I guess the previous owner was going to do the house in that yellow.

I hate the yellow and since the cedar on the house is in decent shape I was going to change the garage to match the house. I will probably just put new vinyl on the garage. Painting it seems half assed.

 

[58Yeoman]

To find a good vinyl siding, you should hold a section horizontally...it should bow, not bend and crease. There are some really cheap sidings out there, same as other sidings. Aluminum was the big craze in this area in the late 50's and 60's. They all lost their paint, but could be repainted, which kind of defeats the purpose of aluminum. Steel and aluminum will dent, then you're screwed anyway.

I had a house built in '75 with vertical groove plywood siding, and had all kinds of problems with it. We finally replaced the second story with vinyl coated aluminum, and it held up well. We later removed ALL the siding and had it replaced with vinyl; it still looks good today, though I no longer own the house.

 

[ripsnortMN]

I did price the siding at menards. It looks about seven squares of siding at around $700. I don't know what brand it was though.

 

[Big-Foot]

I will probably just put new vinyl on the garage. Painting it seems half assed.

So if it seemed half-assed to you - why did you ask us if any of us have done it? To see how many of us are "half assed" ???

My neighbor did the same thing about 10 years ago and the paint still looks good - which is why I chose that route as well.

So it may seem half-assed, but it worked for me at a fraction of the cost of re-siding and it looks great!

 

[hdridinas1]

For the guys that have done this. What color was your siding before and after? My wife works at Lowe's and the paint Guy showed her some primer and paint that he said will work but I forget the name off hand. Its a new product they just started carrying.

 

[Big-Foot]

Here are some half-assed pictures of the Shop before.

 

[Big-Foot]

and some half-assed after pictures

(if they will upload this time)

Grrrr... GJ won't upload them... Will get onto Photobucket and link...

Okay - linked pictures:

 

[Big-Foot]

For the guys that have done this. What color was your siding before and after? My wife works at Lowe's and the paint Guy showed her some primer and paint that he said will work but I forget the name off hand. Its a new product they just started carrying.

This stuff from Dutch Boy;
http://www.dutchboy.com/products/exterior/trim/dura-weather/index.jsp

 

[54FordPanel]

For the guys that have done this. What color was your siding before and after? My wife works at Lowe's and the paint Guy showed her some primer and paint that he said will work but I forget the name off hand. Its a new product they just started carrying.

Here's my before and after on my old house. It's been 5 years, and it still looks great.
In my post above, I said I used Kwal Liquid Vinyl. I would not get anything less than the very best paint that is recommended for vinyl siding.

1) Pressure wash really good. The dirt will just keep coming out of the u-channels of the siding. Keep washing. Then let it dry a week.
2) Prime with vinyl approved primer
3) Paint with vinyl approved paint.

 

[hdridinas1]

Looks good.

 

[bdkruger1]

Wow !!! I'm impressed. Definitely going to be researching this more.

 

[ripsnortMN]

Pictures look great guys. Hey big-foot, did I hit a nerve? Holy!

 

[JimVonBaden]

Here's my before and after on my old house. It's been 5 years, and it still looks great.
In my post above, I said I used Kwal Liquid Vinyl. I would not get anything less than the very best paint that is recommended for vinyl siding.

1) Pressure wash really good. The dirt will just keep coming out of the u-channels of the siding. Keep washing. Then let it dry a week.
2) Prime with vinyl approved primer
3) Paint with vinyl approved paint.

Wow, nice!

Jim

 

[Big-Foot]

Pictures look great guys. Hey big-foot, did I hit a nerve? Holy!

Yeah Rip.. Guess you did... It's been one of THOSE kinda weeks at work... Guess I better thoughen up that thin skin...

Anyway - if you change your mind, this really ain't a bad way to go. They can match colors nowadays so good it is totally unreal. My stuff matched the siding on the house perfectly.

I didn't prime, but I did have to do a second coat. I used a brush and roller because it was too breezy out to use my Wagner Paint-Crew spayer setup...

 

[ripsnortMN]

Honestly I really don't want to side the damn thing. I could do it in a day with help but it would cost around $800 in supplies with the house wrap and all.

Would I be able to cover the light yellow with the dark blue/grey?

 

[Big-Foot]

I would not think that covering the lighter yellow with the darker blue/gray would be a problem. The only caveat I can think of is preparation of the old siding to be painted. I used a car-wash brush and pressure washed mine. I only waited a few days before I painted and was still having some water weeping out from under the siding in places where that side of the shop was in the shade most of the time. I should have waited a few days longer to completely dry it out. But it was the fall time of the year and getting a week with no rain was not likely to happen. I just touched up a few spots where the water trail left streaks and you can't tell where they were now.
So bottom line is - preparation is the key.
If you're re-siding, you skip all the prep, but then you have a lot of additional effort to tear the old stuff off, cutting and installing the new stuff..

Good luck whatever your choice is..

 

[ripsnortMN]

What kind of sprayer should I shoot the paint through? I would think brushing it would leave streaks.