How To Paint Vinyl Siding

We get a lot of questions about exterior painting at Clear Cut Painting, and one of the most common is “is it safe to paint vinyl siding?” and when the answer is a conditional “yes”, people always ask “how can I paint my vinyl siding?” We’re writing this to provide a guide about painting your vinyl siding.

It wasn’t long ago when we were very restricted as to how we could paint our vinyl siding. Vinyl siding is a type of plastic, and if it gets too hot, it can warp. There are a lot of stories out there from people who incorrectly painted their siding, and had to replace it shortly after. If you follow all these steps, you’ll be able to choose from a wide range of colours and have a long-lasting vinyl paint job!

Prepping Your Vinyl Siding

The prep that goes into painting your vinyl siding is often overlooked, but it’s also extremely important! The first step to prepping your siding is to wash it thoroughly. There are a lot of ways to do this, but the most common is to use a pressure washer. Next, you will want to scrape and sand any loose or chipping sections either from the siding itself or from the existing peeling paint. After that, you’ll want to find any cracks or small holes in the siding and use caulking to patch them up. After we’ve scraped, sanded, and caulked the siding, it’s time to spot prime any prepped areas and any spots that we notice the previous paint is failing more than average. Just like that, we’re done with the prepping stage!

The Paint and Materials

In the last few years, paint technology has made it possible to choose from a wider range of colours without having to worry about overheating your vinyl siding and causing warping. Just make sure to be clear with your paint store representative that you plan to use the paint on your home’s exterior vinyl siding, and they will guide you in the right direction to choose the right paint. We’ll also be making a post in the future about all the specific tools and supplies you will need to paint your home’s vinyl siding.

Painting Vinyl Siding

At Clear Cut Painting, the majority of our vinyl siding paint jobs are done using a paint sprayer. We mask off any areas that won’t be getting painted using a combination of masking paper and plastic. We then spray on a heavy coat of paint to your siding, and then go back over it one more time, doing any touchups to areas that require it. It is possible to paint your siding with a brush and roller, but it is far more time-consuming, and investing in a sprayer will save you a whole lot of time and ache. 

Final Thoughts

If you are looking to paint your siding, it is definitely possible to do it on your own, but we always recommend using a professional service to paint your home’s exterior. Feel free to request a free same-day quote from Clear Cut Painting here in Ottawa, and we’d be happy to walk you through your exterior painting project!