Can Aluminum Siding & Vinyl Siding Be Painted?

 

If you have a home with aluminum siding or vinyl siding, you may notice that the siding is experiencing chalking, fading, discoloration, or perhaps you're simply ready for a color change to brighten up your curb appeal.  This is common, but it can be corrected, and you don't have to re-side your entire home.

​

​

Why Does Aluminum Siding Fade or Chalk

​

Aluminum siding was all the rage for siding homes in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Lead paint was a major issue with old wooden sided houses, and to avoid removing the peeling lead paint and releasing dust into the air, and to avoid removing and replacing all of the wood siding, many homeowners and contractors opted instead to install aluminum siding over the top of the wood. For homes that didn't pre-date the aluminum siding era, aluminum siding was an attractive option for those that wanted less maintenance for their homes than wood siding required. 

​

Aluminum siding is colorless when it comes off the factory line. After is was created in sheets of the size and length necessary for siding, it was then painted with an enamel coating. The enamel, like all paints, consisted of a liquid, usually water, but possibly a solvent, a colorant, and a resin binder. When the enamel would be applied to the paint, the liquid in which the colorant and resins were floating would evaporate, the colorant and resins would coalesce and harden, and the colored enamel shell would result from that evaporation and coalescing process. 

​

Over time that enamel shell breaks down due to UV exposure, and exposure to rain, snow, sleet, ice, and temperature fluctuation. Slowly, but surely, the resins break down, leaving behind only the colored pigment. That pigment, having been activated and dried hundreds of times over the years turns back into the powered that it was originally as it sat in the liquid decades ago. The chalking you see on your aluminum siding--and feel--is the original powdered pigments released from the resin binders. 

 

How To Fix Chalking Aluminum Siding

​

The two options for removing the chalking aluminum siding are (1) remove the siding and reside the home, or (2) paint the aluminum siding. 

​

How Should Aluminum Siding Be Prepared for Painting

​

To prepare aluminum siding for painting, the first step is to treat the surface of the siding with a foaming, non-toxic detergent. Generally, something like Simple Green or a similar soap product will do the trick. If the siding has stubborn mildew or algae, a stronger detergent may be necessary. Once the siding has been pretreated, the siding should be power washed with a high-powered gas pressure washer. The pressure washer will remove the detergent and most of the chalking.

​

What Paint Is Best to Use for Painting Aluminum Siding

​

For painting aluminum siding, there are really 4 options that are recommended, depending on your budget. For an economical option, you can go with Benjamin Moore's Regal Select Exterior at $63.99/gallon. It is self-priming on aluminum and comes in flat, low luster, and satin sheens. For a longer lasting paint job, if the budget allows for it, a better option would be Benjamin Moore's Aura at $74.99/gallon. If you prefer Sherwin Williams, and for exterior aluminum siding paints, I generally do, you have two options that are highly recommended. The first is Sherwin Williams Duration Exterior, which runs $80.99/gallon--a highly durable, extremely good bonding exterior paint. An upgrade from Duration is Sherwin Williams Emerald Rain Refresh, at $105.49/gallon. This paint has all the same qualities that make Duration a go to paint, but Rain Refresh is self-cleaning with each rain fall. So you aluminum siding stays looking new year after year.