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Avoid Problems Painting Aluminum and Vinyl Siding
by: Robert Clarke
Anyone with older aluminum siding is well aware of the paint chalking problem. Just rub your hand along the old siding and the chalky old paint will be all over your palm. Trying to get paint to stick to this could be a real problem. This is due to oxidation of the paint. Siding manufacturers originally referred to this problem as a “benefit”. They called it, “self cleaning”, as the paint literally washed off the house.

Older vinyl siding is also a problem. UV light fades vinyl siding over time and the siding becomes very unsightly.

Many unfortunate homeowners and contractors have experienced the dismay, when they repainted their homes, only to find the new paint peeling off a few months later. Both problems with older aluminum and vinyl siding can be overcome with proper cleaning, surface preparation and re-painting.


Cleaning


You will need to rent a powerful pressure washer with at least 3000 psi. You will want a pressure washer powerful enough to remove most of the old chalky paint off the aluminum siding or, to remove any dirt buildup on the old vinyl siding.

Start at the top course of siding and work your way down. You will need to keep the pressure wand fairly close to the siding surface to effectively remove the old paint. In some areas, you may find that the paint comes off to the bare metal. Be careful near windows, corners, soffits and doorways. The water under pressure, can be forced behind these areas causing damage. You can add TSP or other cleaning solutions to the reservoir for mildew, algae or other grime built up. If you do use a cleaning solution, be sure to completely rinse it off with your pressure washer. You should allow your home to dry for several days in dry, sunny weather before proceeding to the painting process.

If you are repainting vinyl siding or vinyl coated aluminum siding, you may need a surface de-glosser. This is a solvent type product used to remove any shine on the surface and to help your first coat to adhere better. You will have no trouble finding a good de-glosser at your local paint supply store.


Application


I like a commercial type airless sprayer. It will draw the paint directly out of your 5 gallon paint pails, through the hose and into your spray gun. These are available to rent at many tool rental locations and even some paint supply stores that supply contractors. If your paint is real high quality latex, it will be thicker than regular latex paint and will require a more powerful airless sprayer.


Priming


This step is equally as critical as the step above. Actually, the cleaning and surface preparation phases will make or break the results of your project.

I like a latex paint additive called emulsa-bond for the first coat. Emulsa-bond is a bonding agent you will add to the first coat of paint or primer, to help it to bond to the old siding.

I buy the best grade exterior latex paint, rather than oil or other solvent based paint. Latex paint seems to keep up with the expansion and contraction of the siding very well. The high quality latex paint I buy needs no primer. I add the bonding agent directly into the first color coat. Check with your paint supplier whether or not to use a primer. The rule of thumb is, when in doubt, use a primer. If you use a primer, add the bonding agent into it before applying. There are also bonding agents available for oil or other solvent based paints. One type is called penetrol. These are usually available at a painting contractor supply store.

Many contractors will spot prime areas, especially where bare metal is exposed. I don’t like spot priming because it can lead to an uneven looking top coat. When I put a primer coat on, I prime the entire home. This gives a uniform surface finish later on.


Finish Coat


Your top coat will be color only. You should check with your paint manufacturer to see if you need one or two top coats after the base coat. Like I mentioned above, buy the highest quality exterior paint.


In Conclusion


Proper cleaning and surface preparation are the two main ingredients to a successful painting job. A bonding agent in the first coat is also very critical to avoid paint peeling off later on. Using these techniques, I’ve re-painted homes that have lasted far longer than the original factory applied finish.


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You may reprint the above article in your electronic or print newsletter; however, please include my byline and bio and keep the article intact. I retain all copyrights.



About the author:
Robert Clarke has operated home improvement companies over the last 30 years. He is the owner of ContractorsUSA,Inc, a nationwide contractor referral service at http://www.contractorsusa.info/. Get more information about aluminum and vinyl siding at http://www.contractorsusa.info/install-vinyl-siding.html



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 Home Improvements – The Fun Stuff
 by: Raynor James

Planning home improvements necessarily involves addressing numerous practical matters. That doesn’t mean you should ignore the fun stuff!

The Fun Stuff

The first thing to plan for in home improvements is the practical stuff. The second thing you need to talk to family members about is the fun stuff.

Most people have colors they like and colors they don’t like. They have things that interest them and things that don’t. Get your family to talk to you about those things. Each person’s bedroom, or bedroom area, should reflect his or her taste and interests.

A boy who likes green, football, and backpacking can easily have a sage green (it “reads” as more neutral than many shades of green if re-sale of your home is a concern) room with cream woodwork, cream interior shutters, and cream ceiling. Framed football posters and wilderness scenes might be pleasant. Bedding with a rustic motif (rows of stylized pine trees?) from L.L. Bean or Plow and Hearth would work right in. Add a touch or two of a bright color like red or yellow.

Does he need a desk in his room? A chest of drawers? A bookcase? Would he enjoy having a bulletin board? Even if they’re small, most rooms need at least three lamps so that illumination is general and even. The shades are usually best in warm, neutral colors. (Light coming through green shades tends to make people look sick.) Lamp shades should be level and the seams should be toward the wall so they’re not visible. When the bottom edge of most lamp shades in a room are the same height from the floor, the room tends to look serene and cohesive.

Hanging pictures usually look best if the bottom edges of the frames are the same height from the floor and level with each other, too. There are exceptions to this and every generalization of course. A grouping of pictures can have the bottom tier follow the “rule” while all of the other pictures are higher. A picture over a fireplace often looks good higher than the other pictures in the room.

Pictures usually look best when they have a relationship to furniture or an architectural feature. Pictures centered over a chest, bed, bookcase, or fireplace are good examples. Pictures don’t tend to look good if they’re scattered willy-nilly around a room, or if they’re up near the ceiling (unless they’re part of a grouping), or if the height at which they’re hung varies wildly with no rhyme nor reason.

A girl who loves pink, the ballet, and swimming can have woodwork the same cream as her brother’s while her walls are a soft pink (a pink with a hint of yellow in it tends to go well with cream), and her art work reflects her interests. If she loves to read, make sure she has a good reading lamp near her bed, or near a comfortable chair, or both.

A cream colored dust ruffle with widely spaced pink stripes and a quilted plaid coverlet in pink, green, yellow, and blue on a cream background might look nice. Add cream fabric window shades with large pink polka dots and I’ll bet she’ll smile.

The bigger point is to simply have fun with some of your home improvements. There is no need to look exclusively at practical matters.


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