Your metal siding or roofing – whether on an outbuilding or on the main building of your business or home – deserves to be protected and invested in. At Colorful Concepts, we are consistently painting metal buildings to protect them from rust, sun, rain and other forms of degradation. Being experts on the topic, we're providing you with some essential information and things to consider to preserve your investment:
If you’re not sure whether it’s worth the investment to redo your outdoor metal finish, here are some signs you should start your preparations or give us a call
the paint has begun to peel, lift or flake;
the paint looks chalky, or deposits a chalky substance on your finger when rubbed;
the sun exposed side of the building’s color is fading; and/or,
there is any amount of rust or corrosion.
Best Practices
1. Squeaky Clean
Your first order of business is to make sure you’re working on a clean surface. For smaller buildings, you can get away with typical home car wash equipment: a garden hose, a brush and some soapy water. For larger buildings, you’ll want to buy, rent or borrow a pressure washer (and learn how to use it!). Use caution if you’ll be climbing a ladder. You want to make sure dirt, dust and that chalky residue we mentioned earlier are all taken care of.
If you see mildew or mold, use a 1 part bleach to 3 parts water mixture and make sure it’s all removed.
Once you’ve washed it, it may take a day or so to fully dry.
2. Rust-Free
Once the building is washed, you’ll want to attack any rust (and spot clean those areas once done).
Rust needs to be scraped or sanded smooth. You can use a wire brush or sand paper (80 grit to remove the rust, 120 grit to smooth it out). For larger rust spots, you may need to hire someone to blast it away, like Colorful Concepts. We use a glass blaster because it is sterile and removes any chance of mold forming, unlike other types of media blasting.
3. Protect Doors & Windows
Just like painting inside a home, you want to use plastic sheeting and tape to protect doors, windows and any other surface you don’t want paint on.
4. Prime
We usually recommend using a primer in every case just to be safe. If the metal siding or roofing is in immaculate shape, the primer might not be necessary but we still recommend spot priming as a precaution to help prevent rust and mold.
If your building is particularly large and has a lot of issues which need primer, you may need to invest in a paint sprayer (or hire us). The sprayer can apply a thinner layer at a faster rate to speed up drying and project time.
5. Paint
After the final coat of primer is dry, clean your paint sprayer or paint roller thoroughly and then apply your paint finish. Semi-gloss, weather tough or acrylic latex paints are okay, though we use a specially formulated paint for metal. In this case as well, two coats is best.
Paint from top to bottom, and move sideways as you finish your painting column.
6. Roofing
If you’re going to be painting a metal roof, be extremely careful. Any work on a roof is inherently more dangerous, especially if it’s not something you do every day. If you have any doubt at all, call us.
Advantages To Choosing Colorful Concepts Painting
Having an expert available is always a distinct advantage. Our professional outdoor metal finish painters have years of industry knowledge and skill to make your project #TrueToTheFinish !
Our crew knows just how to give your home, business or outbuilding the look and feel you’re going for and will advise you through the entire process to make sure it’s exactly what you want. Plus, we do all of the hard work - saving you time and effort - so that you can be focused on the things that matter most!
Give us a call, we’re happy to talk with you about your next metal finishing project!