While vinyl shutters serve no practical purpose on a home, they provide a classic, elegant look to your windows. In many cases, a window without shutters would look as strange as an eye without lashes! While vinyl shutters are made to hold their color through many seasons of weathering, they do eventually begin to fade. Also, if you are painting your home exterior a new color, you may wish to change the color of your shutters. Fortunately for Portland homeowners, vinyl shutters can be painted!
How to Paint Vinyl Shutters
If your shutters are not too difficult to remove, we would suggest taking them down for cleaning and painting. This makes it much easier to paint evenly, much quicker to paint, and far less likely to accidentally get paint on your home exterior. If you can't take the shutters down, make sure to protect your siding and plants with tape, plastic and/or tarps.
Whether you paint them off or on the house, the shutters need to be cleaned before you can paint them. Laundry detergent, dish soap or TSP cleaner can be mixed with water for a good cleaning solution. If there is any mold or mildew on the shutters, add some bleach to the mixture. Use a sponge or a scrub brush to clean, and then be sure to rinse the shutters afterwards.
When the shutters are clean and dry, it's time to paint! A coat of primer is a good idea if the shutters haven't been painted before. If the surface is glossy, use sandpaper to lightly remove the sheen before priming. Use a 100% acrylic latex primer. Once the primer is dry, apply one or two coats of a high-quality 100% acrylix latex exterior paint. It's worth paying more for better paints on this project, since you don't need much paint, and you want it to last.
While brush-painting your vinyl shutters can work very well and look beautiful, you may want to consider spray-painting. You may find that you can achieve a smoother, more even finish in this way.
Choosing a Color for your Vinyl Shutters
Your shutters are intended to be an accent for your home, so choose a color that really stands out! Of course, you also want them to coordinate. Black is a classy choice for many situations. You could also choose to paint your shutters the same color as your front door, or match them to a trim color. Blues, greens and reds are bright, attractive options, as long as they can be tied visually to some other aspect of your home exterior.
One thing to be careful of is not to paint vinyl shutters a significantly darker color than they were originally. Darker colors absorb more heat, and if your shutters weren't designed for that much heat, they could warp.
Professional Painters in the Portland Area
If your vinyl shutters or siding need to be painted, you may want to consider hiring a professional exterior painter. For one thing, we have experience with painting vinyl, so we can quickly and effectively get the job done with expert results. Additionally, we have the necessary equipment at-hand, such as ladders, spray painting tools, tape, tarps, and so on.
Sundeleaf Painting is a trusted, well-reputed painting contractor in the Portland, Oregon region. We offer a full line of exterior and interior painting services, including painting vinyl shutters and siding. If you have any questions, or if you would like a free estimate, please don't hesitate to contact us!
