How to Paint Vinyl Shutters

Vinyl shutters cannot be painted with any regular, exterior paint. Vinyl has high thermal expansion and contraction coefficient. This coefficient is much higher, compared to any other material, like metal or wood. As a result, when it is heated up during the day, it expands a lot and with the drop in temperatures at night, it begins to contract. Therefore, it requires paints that are capable of undergoing this kind of stretching and shrinking every day.

How to Paint Vinyl Shutters

Painting vinyl shutters should be done in a shaded area and direct sunlight on the painted shutter should be avoided. This is because, if the applied paint dries up very quickly, then the paint may not bond well with the vinyl surface. The step-by-step instructions on how to paint vinyl shutters, are given below

Removing Vinyl Shutters
To clean and paint vinyl shutters properly, you must first remove them. Most of the vinyl shutters are hung on clips and can be taken out quite easily. You have to simply lift the shutters up in order to remove them. Alternatively, if the shutters are installed using screws, locate the screws in between the slats of the shutters, remove them and bring the shutter down.

Cleaning the Vinyl Shutters
Cleaning is required to remove grime, spray residue, vinyl pigments and other such small particles, as they can prevent the paint from spreading evenly. Clean the vinyl shutters properly using some good quality soap, scrub brushes and sponges. Wash off the soap thoroughly with the help of a garden hose. Then, allow it to dry up completely.

Choosing the Right Type of Paint
The paint that works best for the vinyl shutters is one that has a mix acrylic and urethane resins. The sticky characteristics of urethane resin helps it to adhere to any kind of surface. While selecting paints for vinyl shutters, do not opt for the expensive paints. This is because, expensive paints are very thick and cannot be applied by the means of spraying. Also, vinyls do not need such thick protection as it will not get be affected by emissions or absorption of moisture.

Choosing the Right Color of Paint
When it comes to choosing the right color for vinyl shutter, select the one that is similar to its present color. If the original color of your shutter is dark, chose a dark color paint only. It is the same for light color shutters also. It is not recommended to change the color from a light shade to a darker one, because then, the vinyl will absorb more heat that may distort the shape of the shutter.

Application of Paint on Vinyl Shutters
Place the shutters on a set of sawhorses so that they do not get knocked off. Now, apply the paint in thin layers with the help of a spray painting gun, using even strokes. In order to paint the slat cavity, hold the gun at forty five degree angle and spray the paint. If you wish to apply the paint with a brush, then take a small size brush. Make sure you cover the sides of the slat and the edges of the shutters with paint. These are the areas which are often neglected. Let the first coat of paint dry up before applying the second coat. If you want, you can put a third coat as well, but make sure that it is sprayed only after the second coat has dried up. After the paint has dried up, apply a top coat of clear sealant to the shutters as a final touch.

The paint applied on vinyl does not take much time to dry up. However, newly painted shutters should always be kept in covered condition for a week to make them chip-resistant. This will ensure that the paint lasts for a longer duration of time.