Painting Vinyl a Darker Color


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Old 05-03-16, 01:06 PM
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Painting Vinyl a Darker Color

Hello,

I have some very ugly seafoam green vinyl siding on my house which I plan to repaint. Some articles say that you should never paint vinyl siding a darker color than what it already is, because darker colors might cause it to overheat and warp.

The people in the paint department at the big box store laughed when I told them that and they never heard of that, and honestly I am hoping they are right because I was planning to paint it dark grey.

Can anyone weigh in on this?

Thanks
Nic
 
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Old 05-03-16, 01:09 PM
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First off, I am not surprised that a big box store paint employee was ignorant of a painting concept. You will generally get better products and advice at a paint store than a paint department.

Generally speaking, you can go a little darker without concern but the more difference there is, the more likely you are to encounter issues. Keep in mind, though, that vinyl siding is maintenance free but as soon as you paint it, it now requires maintenance.

Hang tight for Mark, I think he's aware of a paint meant specifically for this purpose.
 
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Old 05-03-16, 01:21 PM
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Vinyl siding is heat rated, white siding isn't able to withstand as much heat as darker siding. Generally you can change colors but not go darker more than a little. The danger with going darker is the vinyl will get too hot and try to warp. SWP has some paint with what they call vinyl safe technology. I've not personally used it but it is formulated in a manner that allows you to go darker when painting vinyl.
 
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Old 05-03-16, 03:05 PM
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You are just asking for trouble by wanting to paint it a dark grey. Might as well be black. You are causing your own troubles unless you are flexible on what colors meet the criteria below.

As Marksr mentioned, go to Sherwin Williams. Tell them what you want to do, explain the color you are after, and ask them to give you a "vinyl-safe" paint that has a LRV (light reflective value) above 55. (Black = 0 White = 100). This is not a hard fast rule, but it's what is recommended when painting Azek pvc, and I like to think it's a good rule of thumb when painting any pvc or vinyl. Vinyl siding is even more prone to warping, so the higher the LRV rating the better. You may not get the dark grey that you are after, but this is really the route you should take unless you want to risk ruining your siding job.
 
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Old 05-04-16, 05:14 AM
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Man, I'm glad I have you guys sometimes.
There's actually a Sherwin Williams across the street from my house, so I'll go there for sure.

As for what stickshift said about maintenance - does that men that it will need to be re-painted every so often? If so, how often? I'm planning to sell the house, but I don't think the new buyers would love to have their siding flaking off after one winter...
 
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Old 05-04-16, 09:29 AM
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I can't speak for your climate but with proper prep and quality paint I've had painted vinyl siding jobs around here last for 10+ years.

As X said there is probably a limit as to how dark the vinyl safe paint can be gotten in - but they'll know at SWP.
 
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Old 05-04-16, 11:04 AM
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Yeah, I don't think you'll be touching it up every year but I wouldn't assume 10. If this is what it takes to sell it, the maintenance is certainly not going to be your issue and the new owner might want new siding anyway (I know I'm planning to reside the house I bought last year as soon as the budget allows...).
 
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Old 05-25-16, 08:50 AM
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OK awesome thanks for your tips guys, I'm going to be talking to the guys before I do anything
 
 

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