Prepping Asbestos Siding For Paint

Pressure washers are over rated.

Prepping asbestos siding for paint. Not all latex paint is 100 acrylic so read the labels. Be sure to use both a primer and top coat that are recommended for use on cleaned fiber cement siding as recommended by the manfacturer of both the siding and the paint. We rinse with plain water to pre wet the surface and remove very loose dirt. We apply a soap mildew killer under very low pressure and allow it dwell on the substrate for aprox 10 to 20.

Use tsp with both if you can get it in your area. We do a final rinse again. They recommend that leaving the old shingles on is a safe choice though removal is a possibility too. If you do power wash use as gentle a touch as possible and quit if you find that you re knocking pieces of siding off.

Allow the primer to dry completely. The primer creates an adhesive surface for the paint and helps seal the color of the old paint. Asbestos shingles hold paint very well when you use the right kind of coating. Here at top coat painters we dial down the pressure and use a 4 step process.

Apply a coat of primer to the newly cleaned siding. When it comes to applying a long lasting coat of paint start with a 100 acrylic exterior latex primer followed by 100 exterior latex paint. You can roll it or brush it on but make sure you get under the small lip at the bottom of each asbestos siding shingle. Use bleach for stuff that is growing green.

Then be sure that the siding is dry before applying either primer or paint. This means that you ll have to take some extra time cleaning and prepping the siding before painting and rely instead on a garden hose sponges and good old fashioned elbow grease. Use a long handled brush and detergent.