About painting a steel sided building

[MossRoad]

Thanks! Do you remember what brand paint store?

Pretty sure it was a Sherwin Williams.

 

[2manyrocks]

Got to clean thoroughly with a pressure washer then degloss the existing paint with deglosser before priming with the appropriate primer followed by top coat of paint. Must follow the directions on the products used.

If the existing paint is in good shape, it would probably look better with just a good cleaning. Not sure I'd bother painting a shop building if it didn't need painting.

 

[MossRoad]

...Not sure I'd bother painting a shop building if it didn't need painting.

I'm of the same mindset, however, when we bought our place, for example, the house was brown wood shingle siding, the big garage was faded brown, more of a dark tan, and the little garage was kinda white, but mostly dirty. The wife is a big fan of the farms where the house and all of the out buildings match in color. The older I get, the more I like that as well. Just makes the place look neat and tidy if everything is painted to match.

 

[Spike56]

I have a steel sided pole barn that I use as a garage. It was built in 1987. I have a steel sided, steel framed shop building built around 1995. Both are ugly beige colors and I've considered painting them but I wonder if the paint would stand up to the rigors of Colorado winters, wind, and the intense sun at 6400' elevation in summers. The only thing that could make these buildings uglier would be peeling paint.
Does anyone have any recent experience painting propanel steel siding? If done right, how long can I expect it to last? Thanks for sharing any experience you've had.

Have a galvanized carport. Hired a pro to paint the underside white. They bought paint from Sherwan Williams specifically for that. Cleaned with TSP then painted. 5 years no issues and here, (Texas) the metal expands and contracts a lot. But, not sure what "type" of paint they used or if it was anything special. Also, had painted my gutters about 10 years ago with Latex from Sherwan W. no crack, no issues.

 

[tpcannon]

Thanks, I have a Sherwin Williams store near me and they've been great for indoor projects.

 

[tpcannon]

Have a galvanized carport. Hired a pro to paint the underside white. They bought paint from Sherwan Williams specifically for that. Cleaned with TSP then painted. 5 years no issues and here, (Texas) the metal expands and contracts a lot. But, not sure what "type" of paint they used or if it was anything special. Also, had painted my gutters about 10 years ago with Latex from Sherwan W. no crack, no issues.

Thanks. I know what you mean about the expansion/contraction issue. In the summer, in my garage, it often sounds like it's raining outside with the noises from the expansion/contraction. If a cloud floats by and blocks the sun for a couple minutes, it gets REALLY noisy.

 

[EddieWalker]

I might be painting a metal building some time in the future too. It's that ugly beige color that was so popular 30 years ago. My plan was to paint it like a car. They are metal, the building is metal, why not use automotive paint?

I just need to decide what color to paint it.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Thanks, Fud. Do you live in a high humidity climate? It’s semi-arid here. No problem with shade or moisture. I really appreciate hearing about bad experiences. I worry about the fact that these old panels have baked-on paint. As such, they’re pretty much maintenance-free. At my age, the last thing I want to do is to create more maintenance chores. Do I live with ugly or do I take a chance on creating a possible nightmare?

We live in South Central Virginia. All I can offer is my experience. The panels are much worse now after painting than before. Apparently the etching primer or whatever they used not only does the top coat peel but now panels starting to rust along edge.
The painting contractor spent the day cleaning, stripping, repainting the worst part which lasted a few months. Luckily a tree limb fell punching through roof so my insurance company had that worst section replaced. However the other garage nearby white roof is black with mold.
When I spoke with the owner of company who built my buildings said he's never heard of a good story of painting strongpanel.

 

[tpcannon]

I might be painting a metal building some time in the future too. It's that ugly beige color that was so popular 30 years ago. My plan was to paint it like a car. They are metal, the building is metal, why not use automotive paint?

I just need to decide what color to paint it.

That's an interesting idea. But would you have to take it down to bare metal first? I don't know anything about painting cars. I'm pretty much allergic to painting.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

They say a picture is worth 1000 words. My house is cinder block, white vinyl sided 25 years ago and looks great. Doors are black, aluminum awnings are white with black stripes.
I should have started garage with gray siding and white roof, it would of matched better.
First picture is garage & stable looking halfway down driveway from house. Same beige but 1990 to 2020 you see difference. Original unpainted 1990 garage doesn't look bad. Third picture horse stable roof looks good, original paint. Garage looked like that before painting. Fourth picture garage painted roof. Fifth small garage, painted roof. Yes, under tree but it didn't grow overnight, it was there roof painted...see the black. Sixth, 7,8, (where it gets good ) roof panels that were replaced. Original paint underneath still better than peeling paint.
Picture 8&9 is small garage walk in door they painted, same Sherwin Williams. Looks pretty good except jamb is peeling...I'll paint before wood rots.
Bottom line to me is, and again this was highest rated painting contractor in area, most any contractor will promise the moon. Paint stores sell paint, but you can't beat original baked on finish.
Maybe I would have had better results doing it myself, who knows. If I had it to do over I would have painted just the main garage areas that needed it, about 20 sq.ft.
I would have cleaned, sanded, prime and paint oil based enamel.
This was $6,000 waste of money and I still blow or sweep white paint chips off of new driveway.