Painting Over Painted Metal Siding

As with all exterior painting projects proper surface preparation is the key to restoring your metal siding.

Painting over painted metal siding.

Galvanized steel should not be painted with oil based paint. Then apply the primer to the metal siding in even strokes. Prepainted metallic surfaces can be treated almost like any other basic latex or oil painted surface. The secret to painting galvanized steel is white vinegar.

All you have to do is simply apply the vinegar to a clean rag and then wipe down the galvanized surface. Repeat the procedure until you cover all the steel siding. Use the ladder for painting the steel siding on the top and using the roller paint in a horizontal direction. Begin by thoroughly cleaning your siding of all loose dirt chalk and other contaminants.

The best way to get this siding clean is to power wash it. Expect to pay the premium for good paint. White vinegar is both effective and non toxic so it is much safer to use than your average industrial solvent. Start at the top of the wall and across the length of the metal siding.

A wire brush is another good tool for removing paint that accidentally contacts stone or masonry. The paint that you choose will depend somewhat on how well you prepared your metal siding to receive the paint and what the surface of it looks like. The key to painting aluminum siding is to get it really clean and to use 100 percent acrylic latex paint. When ready pour the primer into the paint container on the sprayer or pour the primer into the paint tray.

Before painting you ll still need to do a little. However if you want to paint over prepainted metal you re in luck. Metal surfaces require specialized primer and paint for good paint adhesion. Ensure that you re dealing with aluminum.

Painting vinyl or another metal material other than aluminum will be greatly different so it s important to be sure of what you re about to paint. Step 4 retouch. Trigger the sprayer to begin the paint flow and use a back and forth motion to cover the length of the panel with an even coat of paint. If you have a kitchen then you probably already have this handy solution.

Aim the sprayer nozzle directly at the panels eight inches from the siding surface. If you did not do a good job of scraping off the old paint or there is chalking that you can t get to come off then you should first paint with a primer. Then put the paint of your desired color in the rolling pan and cover your paint roller with the paint. Cleaning of the surface can be done by hand washing with warm soapy water or with the use of a high pressure washer 2500 psi minimum.

Check the label to be sure it s recommended for metal siding. Paint the steel siding panels using the sprayer. When painting with a brush brush towards the unpainted area and then back into the freshly painted wet surface to prevent lap marks.