Paint Chalking Aluminum Siding

One of the hardest surfaces to prep is a aluminum or vinyl siding that is chalky.

Paint chalking aluminum siding.

Wipe the surface with the palm of your hand. In this video toh expert shares his tips and demonstrates how you clean and prepare the surface for painting. Not adequately sealing a porous surface. 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.

This is called chalking and essentially is the existing paint breaking down from the weather. A siding brush has soft bristles that won t scratch the paint or gouge the aluminum like other hard brushes. Use of a low grade highly pigmented paint. There are several steps in dealing with a chalky surface to ensure a long lasting paint.

Chalky surfaces will cause the paint not to adhere correctly to the surface and will cause premature peeling. Inspect the siding for mildew powdery paint pigment and mildew. It doesn t take much effort to scrub away the debris once the tsp has loosened it up. First it seals the aluminum to prevent the chalky oxidation from happening under your paint.

Scrub off the chalk with a strong solution of water and spic and span or tsp detergent or a nonphosphate tsp alternative. This particular brush has a hole in the end for water to pass through. Use of an interior paint for an outdoor application. Second primer creates a uniform surface that is ideal for paint adhesion.

Then paint with two coats of acrylic paint. Primer is one of the most important steps when painting aluminum siding. Oil based paints tend to chalk more than latex formulations. The key to painting aluminum siding is to get it.

Rub siding with cloth to check for powdery paint pigment and mildew. Factory finished siding can develop an excessively thick chalk layer and may require power washing to ensure complete chalk removal. Aluminum should be painted with a self etching primer designed for metal. If your aluminum siding has developed a chalky residue or is faded stained or just plain the wrong color fear not.

If the paint color comes off on your hand the paint is chalking. If you need to paint aluminum siding choose a day when the weather is at least 50 f 10 c and dry since moisture from rain or dew will ruin a new paint job. Coat your roller in primer and roll quickly and evenly along the panel of siding then roll backward in the opposite direction. If after two tries of hand scrubbing or power washing there is still chalk on the surface simply use a primer before repainting the aluminum siding.

You can paint it. Have you ever wondered if you can paint aluminum siding. Some exterior paints such as those used on aluminum siding intentionally chalk for self cleaning. One of the most important aspects of a paint job is the prep work.

The primer should be 100 percent acrylic and specifically manufactured for outdoor painting. Primer does two important things.