You’ve all been asked this probably a million times, but, are there any tricks to painting aluminum siding? It was pressure washed a year or so ago and it has little scattered freckles of bare aluminum where the paint has chipped or been worn away. I was going to prime those spots; maybe I shopuld prime the whole thing because the bare spots are so widespread? and paint with latex. Should I use latex or oil-based primer?
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
In older homes like these, the main remodeling goal is often a more welcoming, more social, and more functional kitchen.
Featured Video
Video: Build a Fireplace, Brick by BrickHighlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Fine Homebuilding Magazine
- Home Group
- Antique Trader
- Arts & Crafts Homes
- Bank Note Reporter
- Cabin Life
- Cuisine at Home
- Fine Gardening
- Fine Woodworking
- Green Building Advisor
- Garden Gate
- Horticulture
- Keep Craft Alive
- Log Home Living
- Military Trader/Vehicles
- Numismatic News
- Numismaster
- Old Cars Weekly
- Old House Journal
- Period Homes
- Popular Woodworking
- Script
- ShopNotes
- Sports Collectors Digest
- Threads
- Timber Home Living
- Traditional Building
- Woodsmith
- World Coin News
- Writer's Digest
- Marine Group
- Angler's Journal
- PassageMaker
- Power & Motoryacht
- SAIL
- Soundings
- Soundings Trade Only
- Woodshop News
- Yachts International
Replies
I'd prime the whole thing with oil and finish with acrylic. Check with your paint store guy. Different brands have somewhat different rules. I use Benjamin Moore or Porter and their recommendations are basicly the same for this application ( or were the last time I checked).
Thanks for the reply. I asked the kid at Lowes, but needless to say, wanted to check with someone who might really know for sure.
>> I asked the kid at Lowes,
Ask at a real paint store that supplies real painters.
And then buy there; pay that little extra money that they've earned by being knowledgable and helpful.
What works in one area might not be best in another.
Keep America Smart!
"It is as hard for the good to suspect evil, as it is for the bad to suspect good."
-- Marcus Tullius Cicero, statesman, orator, writer (106-43 BCE)
Edited 8/13/2004 7:15 pm ET by Bob Walker
Ditto on using a real paint store. There are primers specially made to address aluminum. Real paint stores can supply the knowledge, assistance and the right materials. Rarely do you see professional painters shop @ big boxes. The reason is the service they get at real paint stores.
Many times the real paint stores will rent the spray equipment that you might look into when repainting.
SW makes a bonding primer, its job is to bond to hard to bond to materials such as galvinzed metals, copper, Aluminum, Fiberglass, vinyl and many other substrates. Top coats with alklyd or waterbased paints. The bonding primer is waterbased.
SW or Ben Moore are excellent products, once you clean that aluminum use SW bonding primer or the Ben Moore bonding primer.
Avoid dark colors, usually the siding makers will give a scale to the max color that should be allowed. Cant think of the color grading scale, but it will tell you basically that any color that higher then the grading scale will cause the siding to warp and buckle do the heat absorbtion.
Dont use cheap low quality paint found at super centers, youll be painting again soon.
I don't think alkyd primer is flexible enough for aluminum siding.
if it does have bare metal, I would probably use a Direct to Metal (DTM) acrylic primer followed by 2 coats of 100% acrylic topcoat with a satin sheen. If the siding is in rough shape I would then use a flat sheen.
As with any paint job, prep is the key. Make sure the siding is clean and not chalking.
I did an aluminum sided house about 5 years ago. White on white.
Used a SherwinWilliams paint they sold recommended for aluminum siding that had a built in primer. Stuff covered real well.
Prep was a powerwash and ran a quick pass with an orbital sander on the siding.
Still looks good today.
I would become self-employed except I'm too cheap to pay myself anything.
sobriety is the root cause of dementia
rez......... curious about expansion / contraction of alum. siding at lap joints when painted . here in central Ill. temperture swings of 120 degrees are not uncommon between seasons.
'Twas in Oklahoma with hot summer sun and known for an occasion zero in winters.
The single story house was next door to the place I had rented and did two coats. Still ok, well, was last year. Haven't been down there this year.
Wish I could remember the name of the paint.I would become self-employed except I'm too cheap to pay myself anything.
sobriety is the root cause of dementia
We have painted a number of aluminum sided house. Pressure wash (this year) and use some TSP or house wash. Let dry for a couple of days then paint with two coats of good quality latex house paint with the addetive Emulsa-Bond added to it. You don't need to prime just use Emulsa Bond which is a binder and hardens the paint slightly. Works great and doesn't take much as aluminum siding absorbs no paint and you have no rough surface to fill. DanT
Thanks for the advice. Hope to start this job next week. Spent the day fixing a stairs where the treads were nailed between the stringers. The HO was saying things like--"They're really well built aren't they." And I'm replying gently with, "Yeah, for being built wrong, they're exceptionally strong." Fun. But if it weren't for other peoples mistakes, I wouldn't have nearly as much work! :-)