I’ve been anxiously awaiting my decking materials for the past 3 weeks and they have finally arrived! As long as it stays nice this weekend, I will be prepping and restaining the deck, along with installing a new railing – with the help of the hubs of course. I know I’ll be super pumped to cross this summer project off the list so we can start enjoying the deck again.
Getting to today’s project, one of my biggest frustrations with our deck was that when the railing was stained, the house was never taped to avoid getting stain on the siding of the house. Considering our vinyl siding is a tan color and the stain was a dark brown, it kind of stood out like a sore thumb. When we decided to refinish the deck and replace the railing, I was all about trying to remove the stain from the side of the house.
However…it’s nearly impossible to remove the stain from the side of the house. It’s as if it had become a permanent feature. But I was absolutely determined to at least cover it up in some way. That’s when I thought that maybe if I couldn’t remove the stain, maybe I could paint over it instead.
To paint exterior vinyl siding requires a special type of paint, however. For paint to look good and last on vinyl siding you need to use a latex urethane paint formulated for exterior use. These ingredients can accommodate the expansion and contraction of vinyl and help the paint adhere to the siding. The second thing to take into account is that the paint should be the same shade or lighter than the original vinyl siding color. Darker colors tend to retain more heat and could leave the siding vulnerable to premature warping.
Ultimately I chose “Resilience” from Sherwin Williams. After going home with enough paint chips to create a small book, I settled on the color Taupe Tone. If I had an additional piece of siding laying around I would have just taken that in with me to the store for a color match. Since I didn’t, I settled on the closest color I could find that matched. I was ok with it not being an exact match as the new railing would eventually replace the old one and any color variations would at least be a lot less noticeable than the contrast of the dark stain previously.
Before you paint the one thing you need to do is prepare! To prep the vinyl you’ve got to clean it first. There are many ways to clean siding including power washing with detergent specifically for siding. Be sure to thoroughly clean off any residue and let the siding dry completely before proceeding. Secondly, you may need to prime the vinyl. Priming is only necessary if the original color has completely worn away or become damaged.
Lastly, it’s time to paint. If you have to paint a significant portion of your siding I’d suggest multiple thin coats with adequate drying time in between. For me, I just had a few spots to deal with, so I literally used a paint brush intended for artwork rather than a traditional paint brush.
Do you see that transformation!?!?! I’m super pleased with the outcome. If you look hard enough you can certainly tell the siding has been altered, but I am beyond happy with the way it turned out.
