Aluminum siding can be painted easily if you have the right tools and knowledge. A house can be transformed in as little as one weekend by following the instructions below.

Type Of Paint To Purchase For Aluminum Siding

Always use a high quality acrylic paint for aluminum siding.  Most acrylic exterior paints do not require a primer.  The only time you may need a primer on your siding is if it had been painted previously with oil-based paint.  Depending on where you live, there are a variety of good exterior paints available to you.  We recommend talking to a locally owned paint store and finding out what would be best for your project.  Many paint manufacturers produce paints with a lifetime guarantee for exterior paint.

Preparation for painting aluminum siding

Cleaning is the key.  Aluminum siding seems to attract mold, mildew, dirt, insects, spider webs, etc.  To achieve the best paint job you should thoroughly clean down the whole house.  Usually we recommend TSP (tri sodium phosphate) as a cleaner for paint jobs.  However, since you are working on the outside of the house where mold and mildew is typically present, we recommend using Jomax as a cleaner.  Jomax is an exterior house wash that will kill mold.  It is a concentrate that is mixed with soap and water and can be applied with a pump up garden type sprayer.  Simply spray it on and rinse it off with water.  There is no pressure washing equipment required.

Things to do before you paint your house

Caulking around doors and windows should always be replaced either before or after you paint your house, do not forget this step.  Caulk is made to keep water and moisture out of window trim, door moldings, etc.  Old caulk that has either shrank or fallen out needs to be replaced.  Failing to do this will result in your paint peeling off.  Without caulk to stop it, moisture will get into the wood trim of your house.  The heat from the sun will draw the moisture out of the wood, popping your newly painted trim or siding.  You can choose to caulk either before or after painting.  If you want your caulk to be the same color as your trim paint, buy paintable caulk and simply paint over it when you are painting the trim.  If you choose to caulk afterwards, there are a variety of different colors of caulk you can buy.

How To Paint Aluminum Siding

1. Clean and prepare the surface as mentioned above.
2. Whenever possible, it is best to paint two or three siding boards horizontally all the way across the house.  This prevents lap marks from the paint drying too quickly if you are trying to paint the side of your house like you would paint a room (from top left to bottom right).
3. Paint window trim last, if you get any on the siding it can easily be wiped off or touched up later.

Other Tips

• Always paint in the shade.  The paint will dry on contact if you attempt to paint hot siding.  You should be able to work around the house so you can follow the shade and stay out of the sun.
• Use a good quality house paint.  There is no sense in going to the trouble of painting your whole house and trying to save ten dollars a gallon on paint.
• There is no primer needed on aluminum siding as long as you are using a high quality acrylic paint.  Check the label or ask your local paint professional for a paint that can be applied directly on aluminum.