Why You Shouldn’t Paint Your Vinyl Siding

Can you paint vinyl siding? Painting companies might say that you can. But as you can see from these photos, it could be a mistake that costs you thousands.

Despite the fact that your local paint supplier carries paint that is supposed to be “vinyl safe” -

simply isn’t meant to be painted. Since we are a company that replaces old and damaged siding, we’re the ones who get the call when painting vinyl siding goes wrong. And unfortunately, we get a lot of those phone calls.

Vinyl siding is made from polyvinyl chloride, which is coloured with pigments added in the resin rather than a layer of paint on top. That PVC material will vary in thickness depending on the amount of pigment that is added. As a general rule, vinyl siding manufacturers will only offer their darkest colours in thicker gauge product lines. That isn’t a marketing gimmick - darker colours absorb more heat, and would cause thinner gauge siding to buckle and warp.

When you put a layer of paint on top of the existing vinyl, you’re changing the dynamic of the material itself. No longer a monolithic piece of material with pigment added in, it now has a layer of paint that changes how the product will perform - and the results can be dramatic.