Repainting Rusted Steel Gutters

Painting over powder coated steel.

Repainting rusted steel gutters.

If you re dealing with a lightly rusted surface you may just need to give it a quick scrub with a brush. Sometimes rust corrosion can eat all the way through galvanized steel gutters. Part of your responsibility as a home owner is to make sure that checking gutters for rust and damage is part of your annual routine. When you want to repaint your gutters you will need to do some extra preparatory work.

Move the stepladder as necessary and continue scraping the old loose paint from the entire gutter system. You are now ready to inspect and repair your steel gutter. A paint scraper or metal putty knife may also do the trick. Make sure you spray at a downward angle and rinse thoroughly.

However badly rusted metal areas need more prep work and possibly a special primer. Scrape off peeling paint and powdery flaking rust until the surface is mostly smooth. Most steel or aluminium gutters have a lifetime of between twenty and thirty years provided they are cared for appropriately. For the best possible paint job it s wise to apply a corrosion resistant metal primer to galvanized gutters and downspouts but if no rust was found a primer isn t absolutely necessary if you are applying 100 acrylic latex paint.

You don t need to get down to bare metal. Among home paint projects painting over powder coated steel may seem the most daunting for the do it yourselfer. For non flat surfaces that the metal scraper can t reach switch to a wire brush to remove the rest of the rust. This job actually doesn t have to be so difficult.

Position a stepladder under the gutters. Fixing cracks are the easiest. The first step is to clean off loose rust and flaking paint and then apply a rust inhibitive primer. You don t need to get down to bare shiny metal just clean off the flakes and powdery surface rust that prevent paint from adhering.

Scrape off all loose flaking and peeling paint. Before you paint your steel gutters you want to repair any holes or cracks in them. Do not paint the interior of vinyl gutters. Using the metal scraper scrape as much of the metal railings as possible to remove the rust and any peeling paint.

First prepare the surface by rubbing the gutters down with denatured alcohol. Then paint with a good quality exterior latex paint. Tips for repainting gutters. After your done washing you need to rinse the soap off with your water hose.

Aluminum gutters can develop holes too. Once the area is clean and dry coat the affected spot with a metal primer designed to inhibit rust. Once the bulk of the rust and peeling paint have been removed clean up the surfaces with a dry scrubbing pad. The plastic putty knife does not scratch aluminum like a metal putty knife or steel wire brush.