Thursday, February 11, 2010

Can/should aluminum gutters be painted?they have baked on factory paint.Also,will power wash damage them?

also,house for most part is vinyl..can this be power washed without damaging? vinyl is about 4years old.house is 9 years old/painted about 5 years ago..is it necessary to put down primer and then 2 coats paint or just 2 coats is enough?(not now in such terrible condition.)Can/should aluminum gutters be painted?they have baked on factory paint.Also,will power wash damage them?
Hello BUBE: concerning the gutters... your asking about repainting %26amp; power washing gutters makes me suspect that actually your gutters are very dirty looking with black streaks running down the sides. If this is the case neither repainting nor power washing is required. Washing or cleaning the gutters with any cleaner found in your home or from your local home supply store may clean very little. A person who does commercial power washing can improve the appearance of the gutters, not by using high pressure, but by injecting a chemical in the water stream of the power washer at low pressure which is fine to do and will not result in any damage. The cause of the black streaks is chemical bonding due to electrostatic forces... ionic bonds between the metal of the gutter and the liquids that have run over the gutters. To remove the black from the gutters the chemical bonding must be broken. This is done with a solution containing a high concentration of butoxyethanol. Using this solution will make white gutters with black streaks SHINE bright white! Follow product instructions, but normally... spray the diluted solution on, wait half a minute, lightly brush and rinse, maybe repeat. The dirt and black will roll of the gutters.. you have to see it to believe it. I have attached two web site links if you would like to review the solution I am describing. Be sure to follow all product safety/usage instructions and requirements while both using and applying the product. I hope this information will be helpful to you.Can/should aluminum gutters be painted?they have baked on factory paint.Also,will power wash damage them?
power wash will not hurt vinyl, use 2500 psi washer or less


eavestrough can be painted, but take all flkes off first use primer, eavestrough can be replaced for about$2.50 a foot or less if you shop around
To add to the answer above--I'd prime the gutters before painting--if you say they're not in such terrible condition and have a factory finish, I doubt you have chipping paint to worry about, but if you do, it has to be removed. A little TSP or TSP-substitute in the washer, followed by a thorough rinse will remove chalking and give the original paint a ';tooth'; that helps primer and new paint stick. Make sure when you're power-washing you don't blow water up under the siding.





Incidentally, a quality paint job by professionals should last a lot longer than 5 years, even in areas with severe weather. If you are having problems with flaking/peeling paint, you probably have underlying moisture problems that need to be addressed before re-painting. Since most of your house is vinyl, you should be able to afford the time and money to fully prep (clean, scrape, sand) the areas you need to paint, and use highest quality primer and top coats (go to a real paint store, eg Sherwin-Williams, Columbia, etc, not HD or Wal-Mart).

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