How To Paint Chalky Aluminum Siding

The key to painting aluminum siding is preparation and priming.

How to paint chalky aluminum siding.

Read on to find out more. To test the dryness of your paint touch the siding with your finger in an inconspicuous area. This ensures even coats and will prevent you from missing any spots. This is called chalking and it means your siding will need a primer.

This oxidation that occurs on aluminum siding results in the build up of a chalk like substance on the siding itself which can easily be seen by wiping your hand across the aluminum. Or you could wash it by hand with tsp or a similar product available at home centers and paint stores and rinse it thoroughly. The best way to get this siding clean is to power wash it. If the paint no longer feels tacky or sticky it s completely dried.

However you may find this too time consuming so cleaning with a pressure washer will likely work well enough to get ready to paint. Paint aluminum siding with acrylic. Use it on the siding and you may find that using this sands down to the bare metal which would be the ultimate prep job. In a nutshell you need to start with a clean palette.

Apply one coat of acrylic primer. If vertical paint up to down. The key to painting aluminum siding is to get it really clean and to use 100 percent acrylic latex paint. Then follow up by two coats of acrylic topcoat paint.

If your siding is horizontal paint left to right. Once everything is clean and dry you re ready to apply your primer. This substance if not removed will affect how well the paint can adhere to the siding. As a rule of thumb paint takes two hours to dry.

If you have put latex paint over the aluminum in the past and it is peeling or flaking you will need to scrape the peeling paint away before applying new paint. Sand down the siding with 150 grit sandpaper before you apply the primer or the paint. After your siding dries. Here s where a lot of people make a mistake.

Expect to pay the premium for good paint.