Painting Vinyl Siding: 8 Answers You Should Know!

Vinyl siding is one of the best options for covering a home because of its durability and low maintenance cost.

But due to weather conditions and poor maintenance, repainting or replacement might be the only options available.

Therefore, in this post, I will be treating some likely questions you might have about your vinyl siding regarding repainting and replacement.

Should I Paint My Vinyl Siding Or Replace It?

The two major options available for upgrading your home exterior siding are either giving it a complete siding replacement or simply painting over the existing siding.

As a homeowner, knowing which option to go for can be quite a daunting task.

Deciding on painting or replacement depends on a lot of factors such as;

• Cracks on sidings

• Damage from moisture and mold

• Peeling or fading paint surface

• Panels that are missing or broken

• Warped boards

Based on these factors, you could easily determine what to do with your vinyl sidings. For instance, a damaged vinyl siding would require repair or replacement and not painting.

Repair

Repair is another option you might want to try out if replacement might seem too costly for you at the moment.

You can repair your vinyl sidings by simply replacing damaged planks or sections of your siding.

This is a much cheaper way to get your siding fixed rather than replacing a new siding.

While this is cheap, it is worth noting that the process comes with a lot of hassle, as you will likely have to search for a perfect match for replacement – in most cases you’d not see one.

If saving on cost is a priority for you, then a simple repair should do the job. But total replacement is a better option in the long term.

Repainting

Repainting your vinyl siding should be the right option if there’s no serious damage to your siding. I would recommend you find out by simply giving your siding proper pressure washing.

That way you should be able to detect any faults with your siding.

If there are no serious damages and you would want to have your painting done by yourself, then here are few tips that can help;

• Get the right painting equipment.

• Acquire the specific paint used for vinyl sidings.

• For perfect repainting, you should check for minor faults and treat them as required.

• Paint your siding in perfect weather conditions – mild weather is great.

• Apply your paint and allow it to dry.

If painting seems like a daunting task for you, then you can opt for the services of an expert.

Note that while painting might seem easy, you’d have to pay either through your money or time.

Can Old Vinyl Siding Be Painted?

Certainly, old vinyl siding can be painted. But determining if it should be painted or not would depend on the current state of your siding. That is the degree of damage to your siding.

If there are only minor flaws on your siding, you can simply fix them and get your vinyl siding painted.

If painting seems like the best option for your vinyl siding, then you need to make sure you do it right to get the best result.

First, you have to prep your vinyl siding. A good pressure wash should get the job done.

Next, you need to gather the right painting equipment and make sure you get the right paint for your siding.

Then, you need to search for every minor flaw and fix them. Once fixed, you can start the painting.

But make sure it gets done during mild weather for a perfect job. Apply at least two coats and allow to dry.

Do I Need Special Paint For Vinyl Siding?

Yes, your vinyl siding would require a special kind of paint. Most mistake novice DIYers make is to use any old paint available at home in painting their vinyl siding.

The result is often a disaster because the wrong paint won’t stick to the surface of the siding.

There are several paint options offered by manufacturers in the market for the painting of vinyl siding.

They are mostly found in home improvement stores. You need to go through the label of the paint can, to be sure that it is for vinyl siding.

If you are not sure you can simply seek help from the storekeeper. They should be able to help you out with the right paint for your vinyl siding.

It is worth mentioning that most vinyl siding paint is formulated from acrylic and urethane. You should check out those two ingredients when getting paint for your vinyl siding.

Can Vinyl Siding Be Painted Over?

Vinyl siding is considered to be maintenance-free because they always come with color mixed with whichever material is being used – there’s no need for painting.

But over time due to exposure to the sun, the colors of your vinyl siding start fading. The fading occurs unevenly on a different region of the surface of the siding.

Due to this, the last resort is either to repaint or have a total replacement.

While replacement would cost you a lot, repainting, on the other hand, is much cheaper but certainly, you’d have to pay with your time. Therefore, your vinyl siding can be painted over.

Do You Need To Prime Vinyl Siding Before Painting?

As with other home maintenance projects, painting your vinyl siding would require some priming. With proper priming, painting your vinyl siding should be as smooth as it can be.

If the surface of the vinyl is so worn out that it begins to crack, then a primer is needed before painting.

Another instance where a primer would be needed is if the color of the siding is extremely faded and has become porous.

If your vinyl has any of the above conditions, then priming would be needed. And I would recommend you go for a primer that is specifically made for vinyl siding.

Preparing Your Vinyl For Painting

A good pressure wash is one of the best ways to prep your vinyl siding for painting.

But you must note that pressure washing is great for old vinyl siding. If yours is still new but needs a repaint. Then you can go ahead without pressure washing.

With good routine maintenance of your siding, one wash should get the job done. A second wash is only needed if you discover moss, molds, and debris after the first wash.

There are also cleaning solutions available for vinyl siding. You can find them in a home improvement store. If you don’t know which to go for, you can ask the storekeeper for some help.

After washing, make sure to give your siding a good rinse. Leftover debris after painting would often prevent the paint from adhering to the surface of the vinyl siding.

Allow drying for about 2 to 3 days. Water and vinyl paint don’t mix, therefore your best bet to getting a perfect repaint is to wait until it gets completely dried up.

After drying perfectly, you can get started with the painting process.

Can You Paint Vinyl Siding With A Brush?

Certainly, your vinyl siding can be painted with a brush. But that’s not the option available. You could decide to opt for a spray or simply make use of rollers.

Spraying is considered the most appropriate method for applying paint to vinyl siding. Spraying saves you a lot of time and would likely give you the same factory effect.

Using a brush or roller would likely leave behind some marks which would be near perfect as the original.

Therefore, while painting with a brush is a good option, spraying is a better option.

What Kind Of Paint Should I Use On Vinyl Siding?

Water-based 100 percent acrylic paint or urethane-modified acrylic paint is the best option for getting your vinyl siding painted.

Cheap latex paint should be avoided if you need something quality and durable.

Acrylic paints are known to be very flexible and this would be just fine for every weather condition your siding goes through.

 Vinyl siding would often expand during summer and possibly shrink during winter.

Using low-quality paint will be a waste of your investment as it will likely crack or peel under the pressure of the weather.

Oil-based paints such as cheap latex paint should also be avoided. This is because they are not flexible enough to withstand the changes in the weather.

For more safety against cracking or peeling, I’d advise you to make use of a paint conditioner. It will give the paint the right flexibility it needs for a perfect finish.

Best Vinyl Siding Paint Colors

The best practice to give your vinyl the best paint it needs is to paint it no darker than its actual colors.

Vinyl siding is mostly made in lighter colors because they are made from pigmented plastic. And so they get extremely hot during the summer sun.

Vinyl made with a dark color is made sturdier and so repainting a dark vinyl with light colors of light vinyl with dark color would be quite a misfit. It will result in cracking and peeling.

If you are not sure of what to do exactly, you could always get help from an expert. That way, you’d give your vinyl siding a perfect repainting.