Siding Solutions from House Painting Experts: How to Paint Vinyl and Aluminum

If your home has aluminum or vinyl siding, you might think that means to update your color, you need new siding. Experienced house painters in Bloomington, IL will tell you that you now have the option to paint your siding, whether it’s aluminum or vinyl. Follow our experts step below for an amazing finish.

Plan, Prep, and Prime

When you attempt to have siding painted, you must plan for proper preparation and priming. If there is any chalkiness, discoloration or flaking, it must be completely removed. If it’s not, your new paint is likely to flake right back off of the siding.

Expect Expansion

Vinyl siding is made to expand and contract with the changing temperatures. That means it will slide back and forth a bit where seams overlap. When the weather gets cooler, don’t be shocked if you need to cover up some slight gaps.

Color Choice is Everything

When you pick out your colors, keep in mind that your vinyl siding is made to absorb some heat. Dark colors will naturally take more heat in that light. Because of this, it’s important you not choose a color that is darker than the original siding. If your siding is too dark, it may take in too much heat, causing expansion and ultimately buckling and warping.

Ready to Prime

When you have all of the areas scraped and cleaned, you will need to allow ample dry time. Now get your primer and get started. But wait! Make sure when you get primer, you do NOT purchase latex. Most paint has ammonia in it, including primer. It will cause a chemical reaction to aluminum and produce gas. You will be dealing with a bubbling mess.

The solution is oil-based primer. Talk to your paint supplier to get one that is designed for metal surfaces. As a rule, oil-based paints and primers take longer to dry, but it will not cause bubbles in your finish.

Now is the Time to Paint

Now that you have cleaned and primed siding, it’s time to paint. Make sure the primer is completely dried. You’ll need a 100% acrylic paint to put on.

Call the Pros

Not up to the challenge yourself? Contact our house painting experts in Bloomington, IL to get a free, in-home estimate for our painters to take care of it for you.