As cladding plays a vital role in protecting your home while adding a touch of style, it is a popular exterior panel choice among homeowners. But over time, even the strongest cladding loses its spark, and painting the surface can be a fantastic way to breathe new life into your property’s appearance. No matter if you’re refreshing the existing colour or completely changing the look, knowing how to effectively paint cladding surfaces, is essential because it is not like painting a regular wall. Painting cladding needs special consideration at every step, starting from materials to technique.
To understand the painting process better, let’s get clear about the different types of cladding used in residences in Sydney.
Vinyl Cladding: It is famous for its low maintenance and cost-effectiveness while offering durability and visual appeal for home exteriors.
Wood Cladding: It’s available in different types of wood, such as cedar, pine, oak, etc. It requires periodic maintenance, including staining or painting to protect it.
Brick Cladding: It can be made from traditional bricks or brick veneers, which are thinner and lighter. This cladding provides excellent insulation and requires minimal maintenance.
Metal Cladding: Metal cladding, such as aluminium, steel, or zinc, offers a sleek and modern appearance. It’s lightweight, durable, and resistant to weathering.
Composite Cladding: It blends materials such as wood fibres and plastic for both aesthetics and functionality and offers improved insulation and weather resistance.
Stone Cladding: It has a highly durable finish, lasting through time and various weather conditions. Granite, limestone, sandstone, and slate are popular choices for stone cladding.
Concrete Cladding: For a contemporary and minimalist aesthetic, this one is perfect. It is durable, flexible for customisation and can withstand harsh weather.
Correct Technique of Painting Your Home’s Cladding Exterior
Step 1: Preparing the Cladding
First, thoroughly clean your cladding. Remove dirt, dust, and cobwebs with a soft bristle brush or vacuum cleaner. Use a mild detergent solution to remove the stains or grease. If there’s loose or peeling paint, scrape it off. For uneven surfaces, a light sanding might be necessary. Also, for metal cladding, removing the rust before painting is a must. While preparing a smooth base for painting, don’t forget to wear protective equipment such as goggles, gloves and a mask. Lastly, try to cover the surrounding floor and furniture to avoid unwanted paint stains.
Step 2: Selecting and Applying the Right Materials
Once the cleaning is done, you need to use the right primer based on the cladding type. For porous bases like wood cladding, use oil-based primers, and for covering imperfections on any surface, use latex-based primers. If you want to protect your cladding from UV rays and prolong its lifespan, it’s better to use a sealer, but for maximum protection, make sure it is well-suited to the surface material.
In terms of choosing the cladding paint for your house in Sydney, ask your residential painter to use specific paint based on surface type.
- For wooden ones, you can choose satin, varnish, or gloss paint.
- For vinyl cladding, go for paint that has ingredients to cope with the surface’s contracting and expanding features.
- For metal cladding, choose water-based paint with rust-resistant properties.
Step 3: Painting the Surface
One thing that is often asked is – “can cladding be painted?” If the proper technique is followed, you can achieve an excellent paint finish and repair the whole look of the cladding. So, here are a few popular methods you can follow:
- Brushing: This method is most helpful in covering smaller areas or details,
- Rolling: It’s better to use a roller to apply paint to get a consistent finish in a larger area,
- Spraying: This technique can be used to create a smoother and even finish.
The process might seem easy at first, but for a professional finish, it’s better to hire expert house painters in Sydney. For a perfect-looking cladding paint service at the most affordable rate, you can always rely on the residential painters of Priority One Coatings.
For any residential painting services in Sydney, call us today.