# Painting Steel Siding



## concrete_joe (Oct 6, 2014)

power washing to start (on a hot dry day). wire brush any flaking, etching primer any areas of bare metal. then i would spray oil based paints (primer and paint). prep and primer is key to success. topcoat relies on the primer. but, roller over good prep'd metal is fine, it just uses so much more material though.

Sherwin Williams has a variety of items for the job. you can get 988GBP etching primer (spray can) from automotive paint supply shops.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

DrHicks said:


> My daughter & her husband want to paint their house. It has the 8" wood grain steel siding that was popular about 30 years ago. White. Stained and dirty, but no flaking or other adhesion problems.
> 
> I know this topic has been kicked around many times, _in bits and pieces_, but...
> 
> ...


For steel siding since you say the paint is not flacking or peeling I would suggest a good scrubbing or pressure washing, just be careful with the pressure you don't want to cause problems. 

After the washing most of the stains may come off. Not knowing what the staining is you may need to spot prime or since the paint is in good shape you may not need to prime at all.

As to the paint I would recommend any of the paint stores. SW, Ben Moore, Porter, Glidden just to name a few.

If you are experienced at spray I would say yes. No experience then brush and roll.


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## Jmayspaint (May 4, 2013)

First thing I would do is check the existing paint for oxidation. Rub the palm of your hand across the siding in a few places that get sun exposure. If any chalky material comes off on your hand, it will need to thoroughly removed before painting. 

If it is oxidized, which is likely, pressure washing alone doesn't always work well to remove it. It often takes scrubbing and washing to remove chalk effectively. 

After that if the existing paint is intact, a good acrylic latex should do fine. Spraying metal siding can yield better results and be faster, but I agree with Tool that an inexperienced person would be better off to roll/brush it.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

Intuition will tell you that since it is steel, you must use an oil-based paint. That is not necessarily true. I've done quite a few of these kinds of houses and I basically pressure washed them, primed any bare or rusty metal with a rusty metal primer, then applied two coats of SW's SuperPaint satin latex. I've had no problems and no call backs on any steel-sided homes I have done this way. 

Now, if you want to go the oil-based route you can certainly use an All-surface enamel or a DTM (Direct to Metal) paint, but, why use something that involves solvent clean up and using paint thinners, etc. if you really don't have to?


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

Wow - thanks guys! 

I'm certainly not averse to using a sprayer. Years ago we lived on an acreage (old farm) and I sprayed all the out-buildings. However, this particular house is not large and also has a lot of windows. After all the masking we'd need to do, I'm not sure the time savings would be significant.

Also, I'm intrigued by the possibility of using good latex paint. I would love to go that route, but have just assumed that it wouldn't work well on metal.

Thanks again!


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

If it were unpainted or the paint was failing as in peeling or flaking the advice would be different. I really don't think since your old coating is intact oil or DTM (Direct To Metal) is called for, BUT since you don't mention the last time it was painted you may want to check if what's on there now is oil or latex.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

ToolSeeker said:


> If it were unpainted or the paint was failing as in peeling or flaking the advice would be different. I really don't think since your old coating is intact oil or DTM (Direct To Metal) is called for, BUT since you don't mention the last time it was painted you may want to check if what's on there now is oil or latex.


The paint on it now is from the factory.


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## cdaniels (Dec 27, 2012)

The last steel siding I did I sprayed with oil. It was a commercial building I used a 517 tip and did no masking on the windows. Brushed about 6 or 8 inches around the windows and sprayed away.


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## klaatu (Mar 9, 2015)

other then being rust inhibitive, oil base paints have been far exceeded in quality by acrylic paints. Oil based paints will fade much faster and chalk up much faster. Use and oil primer to prime any rust spots after you clean it and use a high quality 100% acrylic to paint it.


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## concrete_joe (Oct 6, 2014)

klaatu said:


> other then being rust inhibitive, oil base paints have been far exceeded in quality by acrylic paints. Oil based paints will fade much faster and chalk up much faster. Use and oil primer to prime any rust spots after you clean it and use a high quality 100% acrylic to paint it.


i dont agree that acrylics are much better than oil based paints. they have both progressed over time. what i think i can say is, the acrylics are probably just as good as the oil paints today. that said, the water based paints are easier to work with and easier to clean-up.


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## klaatu (Mar 9, 2015)

concrete_joe said:


> i dont agree that acrylics are much better than oil based paints. they have both progressed over time. what i think i can say is, the acrylics are probably just as good as the oil paints today. that said, the water based paints are easier to work with and easier to clean-up.


Paint companies have not put a great amount of research into oil based paints since the 70's, when it became well known that they would eventually be regulating it. The oil based paints that are still being sold today are essentially the same as the oil based paints sold in the 50's, with some changes to remove leaded pigments and some solvents. That being said, a high quality acrylic applied to a properly prepared surface will out last virtually any oil based product available through normal retail channels.


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## concrete_joe (Oct 6, 2014)

so you think no R&D here.

http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/stops-rust/protective-enamel

https://www.rustoleum.com/pages/industrial/solutions-by-industry/

and yes, they have good acrylic enamels, but good oils too.


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## Will22 (Feb 1, 2011)

Actually, oils have changed with the advent of "hybrid" coatings, which are a mixture of alkyd resin with acrylic content. Lower VOC, soap and water clean up, and good performance. There are still a number of solvent based coatings for industrial coatings. For the application noted above, a DTM primer followed by an acrylic topcoat (Devflex, Pitt Cryl,, SherCryl ) would be a good coating system after the surface preparation is done.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

Will22 said:


> Actually, oils have changed with the advent of "hybrid" coatings, which are a mixture of alkyd resin with acrylic content. Lower VOC, soap and water clean up, and good performance. There are still a number of solvent based coatings for industrial coatings. For the application noted above, a DTM primer followed by an acrylic topcoat (Devflex, Pitt Cryl,, SherCryl ) would be a good coating system after the surface preparation is done.


Dangit - now you're speaking Greek to me!


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## klaatu (Mar 9, 2015)

concrete_joe said:


> so you think no R&D here.
> 
> http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/stops-rust/protective-enamel
> 
> ...


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## cdaniels (Dec 27, 2012)

klaatu said:


> other then being rust inhibitive, oil base paints have been far exceeded in quality by acrylic paints. Oil based paints will fade much faster and chalk up much faster. Use and oil primer to prime any rust spots after you clean it and use a high quality 100% acrylic to paint it.


Agree:thumbsup:


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

Will22 said:


> Actually, oils have changed with the advent of "hybrid" coatings, which are a mixture of alkyd resin with acrylic content. Lower VOC, soap and water clean up, and good performance. There are still a number of solvent based coatings for industrial coatings. For the application noted above, a DTM primer followed by an acrylic topcoat (Devflex, Pitt Cryl,, SherCryl ) would be a good coating system after the surface preparation is done.


Since the coating is intact and you will not be painting metal, you will be painting paint why do you recommend a dtm. In fact since the present coating is intact why do you recommend a primer at all. Just seems like a unnecessary step.


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