Painting Asbestos Tile Siding

Installing vinyl siding will require disturbing the asbestos by nailing into it.

Painting asbestos tile siding.

Scraping or brushing off old paint from asbestos siding is necessary before repainting but dangerous because it can release small asbestos fibres the approach of removing the old shingles and replacing them with new siding is an option that many homeowners have pursued though probably not as safely as they should. Disadvantages asbestos cement siding is very brittle and can be easily chipped cracked or broken. Unless asbestos siding is disturbed it doesn t pose a significant health hazard and does not need to be removed. Begin with the walls at the top of the building.

The thing about painting over the asbestos is that your top coating is only going to be as strong or durable as the coating underneath it. One concern when repainting this type of siding is the small gaps between the shingles. Begin painting the siding with your choice of brushes and rollers making sure to check often for runs. Both the epa and the vinyl siding institute recommend not disturbing asbestos if at all possible.

Apply latex primer to the siding. 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. Place the pad at the top of the asbestos cement tile and stroke the pad down with the grain of the tile. 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.

Allow the primer to dry completely. 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. We have rarely seen this material in a worn friable condition but should that occur one might paint the surface also to stop fiber shedding and to preserve the material. Remove the baseboards or cover them with masking tape and use a brush or roller to evenly coat the floor leaving an escape route so you won t be trapped until the paint dries.

However once considerable testing proved that it was a killer the miracle became a nightmare to deal with and remove. The thin coating that the paint could provide would not be enough to encapsulate fibers that may become friable if crushed or punctured making it just as bad as if you had made no treatment at all. Painting asbestos siding is often a much better alternative than trying to remove it. Sbestos was once considered a miracle material used in everything from paint and pipe insulation to even tiling.

Do you need to use special paint for cement asbestos siding.