# Aluminum Siding



## Craig311 (Oct 18, 2010)

Any tips for painting aluminum siding? It's in pretty good shape and relatively clean. The color going on is slightly darker than what is on there now. I've never painted it before and the "powder" that rubs off has me a bit concerned. Do I powerwash? Any special requirements with the paint? Techniques? Or do you just brush it like wood? Any tips are very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

Power wash, metal primer, satin top coat. Spray application. Best yet hire a legitimate painting contractor. :thumbsup:


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

Look at all those wonderful aluminum power washing and painting links bellow vvvv


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

ewingpainting.net said:


> Power wash, metal primer, satin top coat. Spray application. Best yet hire a legitimate painting contractor. :thumbsup:


Oh Gabe. Now, now.


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## Craig311 (Oct 18, 2010)

Thanks for the responses. I worked for a painter for 7 years and still do on the weekends occasionally. So, I actually can swing a brush. A buddy of mine wants me to paint his Al house(small cape) and I realized, in all that time, I had never painted Al siding. 

I checked out the links. Seems like the first step is to powerwash with relatively low pressure, being careful not to take the color right off. Then either a zinc chromate primer and coat of acrylic... or just 2 coats of acrylic. 

My problem is I don't have spraying equipment. I want to do this for him for the cost of the materials. Is it possible to get a decent result with a brush? Or should I tell him to find a real painter? 

Thanks again!


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## hoz (Sep 27, 2010)

I've painted a ton of Al siding over the years. My technique is to power wash, apply primer coat of Zinnzer 123 (tinted 1/2 towards finish color) then one coat acrylic finish. ALL SPRAY. Never had any problems.


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## Craig311 (Oct 18, 2010)

hoz said:


> I've painted a ton of Al siding over the years. My technique is to power wash, apply primer coat of Zinnzer 123 (tinted 1/2 towards finish color) then one coat acrylic finish. ALL SPRAY. Never had any problems.


Thanks hoz. What would you expect with your method if you brushed instead of sprayed?


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

IMO, You will be much more productive with a spray application. Home Depot rents them. I would use a 413 tip.


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## jack pauhl (Nov 10, 2008)

We apply a mixture of krud kutter and water with either a pump up sprayer or 5 gallon buckets filled with the solution and applied with low pressure airless sprayer. Its scrubbed and rinsed with a hose, not power washer. We like to make love to that siding before we paint it so its all up close and personal for the wash. :thumbsup:


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## Craig311 (Oct 18, 2010)

ewingpainting.net said:


> IMO, You will be much more productive with a spray application. Home Depot rents them. I would use a 413 tip.


Thanks again. Spraying definitely seems like my best bet. However... If you had no experience spraying, didn't care how long it took, and just wanted it to look decent... Is brushing out of the question?


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## Lambrecht (Feb 8, 2010)

Spraying will leave you with a smooth finish, brushing will leave brush marks. If you have no experience spraying you would be better of hiring a pro to paint it for you. Watch how they do, ask questions, and learn a few things. I think most people would prefer a spray finish.


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## Dbo (Nov 29, 2009)

You can use a 4-6 roller and brush. Two coats are always better than one after primer coat. Just stop at the seams if you can't finish a whole panel with a wet edge. This will keep from getting lap marks. Putting two coats will help this also.


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## Metro M & L (Jul 21, 2009)

How do you work for a painter for seven years and never ever use a sprayer? I painted an 800 sq foot house with a brush once when I was starting out. It took about a month. It would've taken about six hours to spray the siding if had taken the plunge and taught myself how to mask and spray on that one but I was nervous about learning. Nowadays I look for opportunities to learn new skills rather than avoid them.


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## Dunbar Painting (Mar 19, 2010)

From General Paint there is a product called siding renu. It applies directly to vinyl and aluminum siding.


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## BC_Painter (Feb 14, 2010)

I've had to brush and roll this stuff before and it can be done, you just have to work quickly left to right to avoid flashing on the individual panels. Not much is done with the brush, it's mostly the roller.

I tend to backroll when I spray anyways so the end finish isn't necessarily that different anyways, since I try to make sure it's pushed right in instead of floating on top of the surface.

Just make sure you're using high quality paint that goes on smooth, and a quality roller that will last the job without binding, nothing is worse that a 4 dollar roller that starts to bind halfway through a jpb and drags paint instead of rolling it :thumbsup:


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

Dunbar Painting said:


> From General Paint there is a product called siding renu. It applies directly to vinyl and aluminum siding.


That stuff is good but it's too damn shiny IMO. Looks like semigloss.


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## BC_Painter (Feb 14, 2010)

Rcon said:


> That stuff is good but it's too damn shiny IMO. Looks like semigloss.



Gotta be that much more careful with flashing using it too!

I've had nothing but good results with it so far though, once I got past the sheen.:thumbsup:


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## hoz (Sep 27, 2010)

I spray aluminum siding to try and keep a "factory finish". Sure you can brush and roll but there's going to be brush marks and maybe roller tracks. Use a 3/8 or thinner roller and expect 2 coats finish in that case. 

When spraying we don't 'back roll" aluminum siding but we do back roll wood and concrete.


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

You can brush/roll if you understand how to achieve a great finish that way. I don't think I would ever just brush out siding like that.


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## In Demand (Mar 24, 2008)

I pressure wash with water only, doesnt matter if it goes to the bare metal. Then I spray a quality acrylic over it, no primer. I have painted tons of aluminum siding houses this way and never had a coating failure yet.
Nobody around here primes aluminum siding, closest I have ever heard is adding Emulsa bond to the paint.
I even did my brothers alunimum siding this way and coated it with Valspar Sever Weather exterior, it has been 5 years and it still looks great. I was expecting uneven fading because it was a dark color and crap paint, but so far so good, and the coating is still solid.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

Can't comment outside my realm of prep... We clean a bunch of aluminum for paint prep. A good caustic like sodium metasilicate (TSP substitute) and bleach removes the oxidation.


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## BC_Painter (Feb 14, 2010)

hoz said:


> I spray aluminum siding to try and keep a "factory finish". Sure you can brush and roll but there's going to be brush marks and maybe roller tracks. Use a 3/8 or thinner roller and expect 2 coats finish in that case.
> 
> When spraying we don't 'back roll" aluminum siding but we do back roll wood and concrete.



I'll typically backroll the first coat but leave the second coat as it's sprayed on.


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## MNpainter (Jul 17, 2008)

I have done dozens of these all with great results. Pressure wash, use a bleach and TSP mix or whatever, just the get rid of the dirt and mildew. The chalking is good, means you eill have great adhesion. NO primer, period. Apply 2 coats of BM Moorglo or the superspec version. 
Brush and roller works good sparying is not essential. GL
steve:yes:


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## johnthepainter (Apr 1, 2008)

ive painted many aluminum sided homes

i never use primer

2 coats of acrylic latex

i soak it with a tsp solution, and powerwash, scrubbing stubborn spots.

all of the aluminum siding jobs ive done look great and last.

seal crete is an option i use when its real chalky.


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## hoz (Sep 27, 2010)

MNpainter said:


> The chalking is good, means you eill have great adhesion. NO primer, period.


This is opposite from my experience. Care to illuminate?


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Unless otherwise specified, most acrylic products dont require primer on aluminum siding. It holds up really well, moisture causes most problems on wood siding....theres no way for aluminum to absorb water....so it holds up great. Chalking needs to be removed, if you are unsure you can always add Emulsa Bond.


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

NCPaint1 said:


> you can always add Emulsa Bond.


used it on a severely chalked aluminum sided house. Much of the paint was disintegrated and left a great deal of bare aluminum. Its been almost 8 years and is holding strong. Topcoated with moorlife btw.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

hoz said:


> This is opposite from my experience. Care to illuminate?


 Yea me to, chalking needs to be removed for proper adhesion. Its the biggest pita when working with aluminum or old metal.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

braden johns said:


> BONDO? yes,let it cure over night and sand it smooth. prime with KILLS and get SHERWIN WILLIAMS to color match your color.


Kilz :wallbash: Not KILLS And theres no need for KILZ on aluminum siding


You got Sherwin Williams right, I thought for sure you were going to say "Sherman Williamz" :whistling2:


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## hoz (Sep 27, 2010)

NCPaint1 said:


> Kilz :wallbash: I thought for sure you were going to say "Sherman Williamz" :whistling2:


I say that all the time, to their face! 'Cept it 'Willams"


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## MNpainter (Jul 17, 2008)

hoz said:


> This is opposite from my experience. Care to illuminate?


Yes the chalking has to be removed, what I meant,seems so obvious, is that if it is chalking the finish has broken down and after you pressure wash you will have great adhesion. Think of it this way, mother nature has dulled the surface for you. Pressure wash and 2 coats Moorglo. steve


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## Wolfe (Oct 21, 2010)

*al siding*



Craig311 said:


> Thanks for the responses. I worked for a painter for 7 years and still do on the weekends occasionally. So, I actually can swing a brush. A buddy of mine wants me to paint his Al house(small cape) and I realized, in all that time, I had never painted Al siding.
> 
> I checked out the links. Seems like the first step is to powerwash with relatively low pressure, being careful not to take the color right off. Then either a zinc chromate primer and coat of acrylic... or just 2 coats of acrylic.
> 
> ...


It sounds like the substrate has been previously painted. If so, do a bakingsoda wash(Etching).:thumbup: Then I would use a Tiniemic paint to ensure durbality and longievity. If you dont have Tiniemic avaliable then use a DTM primer (direct to metal) Then top coat with your desired acrylic paint.


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## NCPaint1 (Aug 6, 2009)

Why bother with DTM when its already painted. Another benefit of DTM is corrosion resistance, useless on Aluminum, it doesn't rust right?


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## hoz (Sep 27, 2010)

NCPaint1 said:


> Why bother with DTM when its already painted. Another benefit of DTM is corrosion resistance, useless on Aluminum, it doesn't rust right?


+1 no need for rust preventative primers. I use Zinnzer123 for it's cling-ability. Tough stuff, hangs tight in case there is any residue chalk after power washing.


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## hoz (Sep 27, 2010)

MNpainter said:


> Yes the chalking has to be removed, what I meant,seems so obvious, is that if it is chalking the finish has broken down and after you pressure wash you will have great adhesion.


thx 4 the clarification.


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## rwdiveoso (Mar 12, 2012)

*vinyl renu*

i have a storage facility quote i worked on. was thinking of using an SW product but there are so many colors on the job it will take forever to match and prep for each color. i checked with a friend of mine in AZ and he restores mobile homes and has done several storage facilities in AZ. He uses a product called vinyl renu (strange name for metal) and has for the past 5-6 years. there was not much on the website about metal so i called the manufacturer and they said it will work and will restore the origional color so that saves all the prep and color matching. has anyone tried it on metal? i have been using it for shutters and vinyl siding but have not used it for metal. just curious if its worth trying. i really like the product but have not used it on metal.


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## caddisfly007 (Mar 25, 2009)

Pressure wash using injector with TSP, then just use two coats Bond Plex (SW). Best exterior latex satin bonding paint I have ever used. Sticks to any pre-finished metal siding.


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## [email protected] (Feb 24, 2008)

caddisfly007 said:


> Pressure wash using injector with TSP, then just use two coats Bond Plex (SW). Best exterior latex satin bonding paint I have ever used. Sticks to any pre-finished metal siding.


I have only done one building (shop) with metal siding and this is exactly what I did with same product. Bond Plex is EXPENSIVE and remains to be a 
GREAT product.

BEFORE:









AFTER:









As for brushing... It's all in what your friend wants for a finished product. I would never brush metal siding unless specifically asked to do it that way and well, the cost would certainly justify my time. Spraying isn't all that hard to learn. You could probably find a YouTube video showing the basics of spraying, and rent the equipment. If your friend wants the spray finish, then he should fork out the cost for the sprayer with the understanding that you will be using his house as the guinea pig...  Good luck!


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