Aluminum prep

[Barry M 73]

My neighboor is going to paint his aluminum siding on his house this spring and as we were talking I found out he was just going to spray it with a garden house, let it dry and start painting. I told him it has to be preped first so I kind of got myself involved. Who here has PWed aluminum to prep it to be painted? Can you give me a quick run down of the procedure, like what chem to use and what tip or how much pressure to use. Also what do you charge for this? Does anyone know of a good paint forum so I can give my nieghboor some pointer on painting it after the prep? Thanks guys.

[Jarrod 22]

Hi Barry, all you have to do is soap it, brush it, & wash it. Brushing removes all of the oxidation so that the new paint sticks.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Agreed. I use a 2 step method of acid then a caustic detergent. Brush and rinse. Low pressure works fine.

Rod!~

[Jarrod 22]

Rod, what about the windows? Do you just soap them first, then apply acid?

I've thought about 2 stepping houses b4, but the windows always scare me.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Prewet.

Rod!~

[Jarrod 22]

Thanks Rod.

[Jonathan Chiplock 14]

Its a pretty huge task to paint an aluminum sided house. Does the homeowner know what is in store for him. Typically they are sprayed, how does he plan to apply the paint?? Sometimes I think it is easier to pay someone to do stuff like this.

[Barry M 73]

I'm not sure. I'll have to talk to him some more about it. Maybe he was going to brush it.....lol