Painting Your Home's Aluminum Siding? Follow These Four Tips

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When aluminum siding starts to look dull and worn down, painting it can be a great way to make it look brand new once again. It's a great alternative to spending thousands of dollars on new siding, and you can do the job on your own. If you want to ensure the job is done right the first time, be sure to follow these four tips for painting your home's aluminum siding.

Prep Your Siding

One of the most crucial steps to take when painting aluminum siding is the prep work. More specifically, you will need to remove all of the mold, mildew, and stains that are on the siding. You cannot just paint over them; this would be a costly mistake.

You can clean aluminum siding with a pressure washer, which can be purchased or rented from a home improvement retailer. The siding will then need to dry for several days, so make sure you do the cleaning when the forecast is going to be free of rain for the near future.

Don't Forget To Prime

When the siding is completely dry and clean, you must take the time to prime the siding. It will help make sure that all the paint will adhere to the siding properly, and makes the paint durable so that it will resist peeling and stripping over the years.

Consider spending some extra money on primer that is designed for exterior materials that are smooth, like aluminum.

Avoid Working Under Direct Sunlight

When the day comes that you are ready to paint, plan your painting accordingly so that you are not painting your siding in direct sunlight. This is because aluminum can contract and expand quite easily, especially when the sun is beating down on it. It will cause the paint to flex with the siding during the day, which will make the finished coat of paint prone to peeling and chipping.

Don't Neglect Your Gutters And Trim

When putting in the effort to paint all of your home's siding, it is also the time to repaint trim, downspouts, and gutters. Use a color that complements the new color of your siding. It may not seem apparent at first, but when the job is complete, you could have regrets that these features look bad when compared to the freshly painted siding.

If you don't feel capable of doing this job on your own, contact a general contractor in your area that can help; click here for more about this topic.


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