Painting Asbestos Cement Board Siding

To help your paint adhere to the fiber cement siding and to get the most uniform looking finish on your paint job the best practice is to apply one coat of a quality exterior latex stain blocking or masonry primer to all of the siding.

Painting asbestos cement board siding.

Painting cement board siding can take care of faded colors or give you new ones if color trends change. Fiber cement shingles both new non asbestos product and the older asbestos cement product are provided from the manufacturer with a coated surface usually white. Disadvantages asbestos cement siding is very brittle and can be easily chipped cracked or broken. 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.

Unlike more porous siding materials such as wood clapboard asbestos cement siding will not quickly soak up paint which allows it to be painted more easily. Apply a coat of primer to the newly cleaned siding. Allow the primer to dry completely. There are two common versions for use on homes apartment buildings or commercial structures.

Two fire marshals i work with one in texas the other in nj have both opined that in their experience fires spread slower in asbestos clad houses than vinyl. When the asbestos cement siding is soiled or moldy or has an algae coating we prefer to gently clean the surface with a sprayer perhaps a deck cleaner solution. Left on your house it s a darn good insulator and fire retardant. The primer creates an adhesive surface for the paint and helps seal the color of the old paint.

This version allows you to paint the fiber cement siding in whatever color scheme you choose after installation. Our method of choice to first apply zinsser peel stop triple thick primer which is a water based acrylic binding primer designed to penetrate and stop previous coatings from peeling. Painting asbestos siding is often a much better alternative than trying to remove it. This is due to the fact that fiber cement does not soak in the painting products like cedar pine or other wood siding products.

Unfortunately as with any product repainting can become a necessity. Cement board manufacturers have really turned this product into an attractive siding choice. It s not difficult at all to paint asbestos siding as one of its benefits is that paint easily adheres to it and it is very durable and can last for decades without chipping or cracking. Many cement board siding options are pre finished in a variety of colors.