Painting Vinyl Siding

Q. We have vinyl siding that’s over 20 years old and it looks bad. I want new siding, but my husband wants to paint it instead. Can the vinyl siding be painted with a really good urethane paint?

A. You can paint anything, but should you?

Yes, vinyl siding can be effectively coated with a paint formulated to stick to it, but I do not recommend painting vinyl siding due to the substantial expansion and contraction movement caused by the extreme changes of temperature in the Midwest.

If you paint the vinyl in cooler weather you may then see cracks or strain in the paint when the vinyl expands in the summer heat. Conversely, painting the vinyl in warm weather will create gaps that show the old color when the vinyl shrinks in cold temperatures.

Vinyl moves with the temperature, so it is impossible to maintain an even and consistent appearance by re-coating it. When you want a new color and new look to the exterior of your home, we highly recommend installing new siding rather than painting it.

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