How to paint vinyl?

[PE]

Hi all: I've just installed new windows that have exterior white vinyl cladding trim that I want to paint to match the trim around my home's other windows. The window installers advised me to use polyurethane paint, and the reps in the paint dept. of my local Home Depot suggested to me that that I'd probably need to buy it from an establishment that sells marine (ie., water and boat, not military, related) products. Would appreciate any advice regarding technique(s) and suitable materials to use for painting vinyl, and where to get those materials. Thanks for your replies! PE

[dbird]

we just went to home depot about two days ago and bought some spray paint in a can that was advertised on tv that it is suppose to be able to paint plastics... they show plastic buckets, chairs, etc. on the label.. read the label i dont know if its to paint on vinyl or not??? but after getting it and reading the label it seemed that it says you can paint plastic without priming it??? maybe you just need some primer for the vinyl???? a primer that will be able to paint onto the vinyl??? check it out... hope this helps.

[Richard J Kinch]

Some plastics are easy to bond to, like PVC ("vinyl").

Some aren't.

Saying "paints plastics" doesn't mean much.

[m Ransley]

Dont get half assed advise from HD get advise first from the Window Co. then call a Co like Sherwin Williams and their Technical assistance. Ck with Benjamin Moore, PPG, P&L. Do it wrong you will regret it.

You should have purchased the color you wanted, you may regret this " Cost savings " you tried. Kinda dumb

[Pat]

Why didn't you order the color you wanted to match the other windows.

My son installs windows for a living. I thought all vinyl windows came in white. He informed me , Not true. Did you get them from HD, if so that s why. Are they wood and vinyl clad. Or vinyl insulated windows. maufacture of the windows would have ordered the color of the vinyl before putting them together. Now you have double work.

Pat.

[Bob]

My wife just painted the trim with a standard exterior latex enamel primer from home depot. She got it all over everything in the kitchen and I will guarantee it ain't gonna come off your vinyl.

Buy some and do a test patch and try scraping it off after a month in the sun. It ain't moving.

[PE]

I appreciate the advice, but could have done without the insult, thank you very much! I wanted these particular windows because of unique design features, and they came with white trim only.

[Kurt]

The window company that we are using to retro-fir vinyl windows (Milgard) to our house says that they cannot be painted. Wonder if they say this for warranty restrictions as opposed to real concerns about the paint sticking?

[Kurt]

I just got through researching vinyl windows for the past couple months in preparation of re-windowing our house. Here in So. Cal. there are a zillion window companies. A few sell their own private label window, others sell the bigger companies like Milgard, Certainteed, etc. (The Home depot windows are Milgard, I think) All these windows come in either white or beige. None have the option for other trim colors. For doing a retrofit window, the trim is part of the window. I suppose if you were willing to pay the extra cost, and the job were big enough, you might get a manufacturer to custom dye the vinyl. I would bet good money that the cost of painting a white one would be far cheaper than paying for custom. The window companies I spoke to do not advise painting the window trim. As mentioned in another thread, I suppose they say this as it might void the warranty.

[PE]

Thanks for the input, I'll factor it in. Meanwhile, you might want to think twice about a retro installation if the windows in question are exposed to heavy weather. In my experience, that expandable foam they shoot to fill the gap between the new and old frames will start to shrink after a few years, you'll find yourself living in leak city, and that window company will long-since have gone out of business.

[Kurt]

Besides living in sunny So. Cal. near the beach, weather is pretty mild- even during the (short) rainy season. These windows do not use the expandable (actually non-expandable is what the other ones I talked to use) foam the others use. They use a silicon filler of some sort. Also- lifetime guarantee on windows and installation. It's even transferrable to the next owner.

[Rick Brandt]

FWIW a few years ago my (then adolescent) Golden Retriever chewed up a corner piece of our vinyl siding. I went to the nearby stores but nothing matched so I bought the closest color and then took a sample of the damaged vinyl to the Sherwin Williams store and had them do a computer color match for me with one of their exterior semi-gloss enamels. It matched nearly perfectly and I haven't seen a hint of peeling yet.

[GFRfan]

Good luck collecting from a company that has been out of business for 19 years.