Painting vinyl siding.

[Seth1968]

I've got about 3000 sq ft of white vinyl siding on my house that I want to change to a tan colour. The cost and labor involved is daunting, so I've been looking into painting it.

From what I gather, a few years ago, painting vinyl siding was a recipe for disaster, as the paint didn't have enough elasticity to expand and contract with the vinyl. That seems to have changed with recent paint formulation such as this:

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-ca/for-contractors/vinyl-select#


With Benjamin Moore's Vinyl Select colours for vinyl siding, your customers can choose from a huge variety of beautiful, "vinyl-safe" colours that can withstand the stress of expansion and contraction, available in our line of durable exterior paints.

I'm going to paint a test area on my south wall, and see what it looks like next spring. I'm aware of the preparation, and the need to paint under the vertical seams.

Has anyone else ever tried this?

EDIT: Instead of using the wall, I'll just install some of the leftover siding onto some osb and lean it up facing south.

[Kloubek]

Good idea to test it first!

I'd be interested to see if this works- from both an adhesion perspective as well as an expansion/contraction perspective. I don't exactly trust manufacturer's claims...

[dj_rice]

Let us know your before and after.

I'm debating this as well, tried cleaning my siding last week with a pressure washer and some stains aren't coming out.

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Good idea to test it first!

I'd be interested to see if this works- from both an adhesion perspective as well as an expansion/contraction perspective. I don't exactly trust manufacturer's claims...

Nor do I, but in this case, this isn't a a claim by a 2AM infomercial, but rather long term players such as Benjamin Moores, and Sherwin-Williams.

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-collection/vinylsafe-colors-for-vinyl-siding/

I would hope that these companies have confirmed their findings via a lab that puts the product through extensive expansion and contraction tests.

Kloubek,

With proper surface preparation, what exactly is your concern with adhesion?

I'm thinking a non-porous surface with emulsifiers. Is that what you're getting at?

[Kloubek]

Well now you're getting far more technical than my knowledge extends with emulsifiers, etc. But my thoughts are that I just know that even plastic paints have not performed well in the past for me - even after what I considered proper cleaning and roughing up.

With siding, you have it exposed to extremes of heat, cold, and moisture, along with rapid expanding and contracting... not to mention the occasional scrape from gardening implements, etc. There's just so many variables that I find it hard to believe there is a product which would hold up properly.

But with that said, I'm very interested to see if your test works out well. Maybe technology has advanced to this point after all....

[CapnCrunch]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Well now you're getting far more technical than my knowledge extends with emulsifiers, etc. But my thoughts are that I just know that even plastic paints have not performed well in the past for me - even after what I considered proper cleaning and roughing up.

With siding, you have it exposed to extremes of heat, cold, and moisture, along with rapid expanding and contracting... not to mention the occasional scrape from gardening implements, etc. There's just so many variables that I find it hard to believe there is a product which would hold up properly.

But with that said, I'm very interested to see if your test works out well. Maybe technology has advanced to this point after all....

Don't forget hail impacts.

[InRich]

If you guys paint vinyl siding, you'll be very sorry...

What your not getting is...
1 - not only does the vinyl expand and contract due to heat, which will fuck with the final finish and look on the vinyl, BUT the vinyl also expands vertically, where a new piece meets end piece... so at the end of the day, the area's currently covered up, *(which wont be sprayed) will eventually come out, and you'll see the original color, at every seem... OVER THE ENTIRE HOUSE... it'll look like shit! theres one of my parents street, it looks aweful

JUST DONT DO IT.
If you want to change the color, I'll come out and give you a quote for redo'ing the whole thing in new material. shouldnt be more then 5 - 7k

[masoncgy]

You can definitely paint vinyl siding, but the trick is that you cannot paint the existing siding a darker shade of color than what it is now... it was manufactured to absorb a certain level of heat dependent on it's color, so if you paint it a darker shade, it will absorb too much heat and then twist and warp.

If you have white vinyl siding, this circumstance is crappy, because basically you can't do anything other than paint it white or very slight off white.

I've painted vinyl siding before and it's turned out fine and has lasted years without issue. As with anything, the prep beforehand is the key and you need to use a good primer to ensure the paint sticks fully.

I will be repainting my own vinyl siding in the spring, so I can always put up some before and after pics at that time if you wanted to check it out.

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by InRich
JUST DONT DO IT.
If you want to change the color, I'll come out and give you a quote for redo'ing the whole thing in new material. shouldnt be more then 5 - 7k

I would tend to agree, it'll likely cost you around 4k just to get it painted (unless you AREN'T a shitty painter and DIY....but most people only think they don't suck haha). Spend a bit more and do it right.

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by InRich
If you guys paint vinyl siding, you'll be very sorry...

What your not getting is...
1 - not only does the vinyl expand and contract due to heat, which will fuck with the final finish and look on the vinyl, BUT the vinyl also expands vertically, where a new piece meets end piece... so at the end of the day, the area's currently covered up, *(which wont be sprayed) will eventually come out, and you'll see the original color, at every seem... OVER THE ENTIRE HOUSE... it'll look like shit! theres one of my parents street, it looks aweful


That was the general consensus before these two came along, but I'm still skeptical:


With Benjamin Moore's Vinyl Select colours for vinyl siding, your customers can choose from a huge variety of beautiful, "vinyl-safe" colours that can withstand the stress of expansion and contraction, available in our line of durable exterior paints.

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-ca/for-contractors/vinyl-select


Until now, there were limitations to painting vinyl siding. Using a dark color on top of lighter siding would cause the siding to buckle. Your only option was to choose the same color or lighter. No longer. Sherwin-Williams VinylSafe™ Color Technology provides a wide color selection and excellent performance on vinyl without buckling — even when using a dark color.

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-collection/vinylsafe-colors-for-vinyl-siding/

My main concern at this point isn't adhesion, but rather the issue of cold contraction that will expose the old surface.

[GTS4tw]

Originally posted by Seth1968


That was the general consensus before these two came along, but I'm still skeptical:



http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-ca/for-contractors/vinyl-select



http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-collection/vinylsafe-colors-for-vinyl-siding/

My main concern at this point isn't adhesion, but rather the issue of cold contraction that will expose the old surface.

That has always been the concern in painting vinyl siding, for the money it would be worth it to get the siding redone. Then you have a solid warranty. Its great that these paint companies guarantee it, but what does that mean? You get a few free 5's of paint if it fails? Doesn't help you much since it is pretty much impossible to fix.

If I was going to do it, I would use any other paint than Benny Moore, they produce the lowest quality garbage and just market it better than anyone else.

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by GTS4tw


That has always been the concern in painting vinyl siding, for the money it would be worth it to get the siding redone.

That may very well be what I end up doing, although I'll still try the test area as mentioned.

I don't know how much the Sherwin Williams paint is, but if it's $50.00 a gallon, it will cost about $400 to paint the 2000 Sq ft with one coat. When I do the test area, I'll do one side with one coat, and the other side with two coats.

[Ven]

If you can't get your siding clean, really clean; that means all the environmental fall out and stains off, the paint will not properly adhere. Pressure washing won't cut it either. Degreaser, bristle brush, and labour on a ladder. Like painting ANYTHING you need proper prep to get a good and lasting end result, and protect yourself against the warranty claims that they're ready to deny for any reason they feel like. Regardless of all that you can not expect it to be a permanent solution, just like every other paint and stain used on a house. It's a product developed to help house flippers really.

Seriously call InRich, get a quote and do it right.

[Seth1968]

Ya, I'm really starting to second guess the whole idea. Especially given that I'm capable of doing the siding myself.

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by GTS4tw
If I was going to do it, I would use any other paint than Benny Moore, they produce the lowest quality garbage and just market it better than anyone else.

I would respectfully disagree with that statement.

We use Cloverdale and General Paint mostly, each brand has a couple things that are more favourable than the others comparable offering....but some Benjamin Moore product is head and shoulders above the other two and the price premium for it is made up for 5-fold in material quantity (coverage rate) and labour savings.

:hijack:


Back on topic - just re-side! And as much as it's fun to hassle Inrich, it is likely worth your time to at least call him for an opinion. He does seem to run a proper ship in that regard. :)

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by JRSC00LUDE
Back on topic - just re-side! And as much as it's fun to hassle Inrich, it is likely worth your time to at least call him for an opinion. He does seem to run a proper ship in that regard. :)

Thanks for that JRS, but I'm in Lethbridge and if I re-side, I'll be doing it myself. I'm pretty handy, and I've always done my own house renos including plumbing and electrical. It's just going to be a pain in the ass, and I was hoping for an easier solution.

Now if you think painting siding is crazy, wait until I post about my roof idea:rofl:

[JRSC00LUDE]

Ahhh!

Never even looked at location. And here now I've gone and complimented Rich like a sucker! :rofl: (kidding Rich, I wouldn't hesitate to do business with you from what I've seen and read ;) )


Lethbridge hey? Just talking about doing business with an outfit from there, Southwest Steel.

[blitz]

Congrats on becoming a sponsor Rich!

;)