Can you paint a colorbond roof in Australia? | Painting colorbond roof sheeting | Common colorbond roof colours | Painting colorbond roof vs. painting roof tiles | Difference between paint a colorbond roof vs paint roof tiles | Repainting a colorbond roof | Preparing colorbond roofing for paint | Common issues with painting colorbond roofs | Metal colorbond roof painting costs in Australia | How long will colorbond roof painting last?
Colourbond roofing is the most common type of roofing in Australia. It looks great, lasts a long time and is very inexpensive. Unfortunately, it doesn’t handle wet or oily substances very well. The surface oxidises easily and once this happens there is no way to stop it throughout the rest of the life of your roof.
Can You Paint a Colorbond Roof in Australia?
Yes, you can paint a Colorbond roof. You just need to make sure you choose the right product and have it done by professionals.
There are a few things you need to consider before painting your Colorbond roof. The first thing is that you’re dealing with a product that was designed specifically not to be painted. This means there will be very specific rules and regulations about what paints can be used and how they should be applied.
To ensure this paint job lasts as long as possible, it’s important the person doing the work has previous experience in roof painting and is aware of application techniques and materials required for this type of project.
When choosing a painter, make sure they mention some experience in applying paint directly to Colorbond roofs on their website or on an applications form. If you don’t get a clear answer, ask to see examples of previous work.
While the Colorbond roofing system was designed not to need painting, general wear tear can occur. There are some occasions when a paint job is required, for example, if the roof has been damaged due to incorrect installation or from natural weather conditions and needs repairing, then repainting may be necessary.
Repainting your Colorbond roof will make it look as good as new again – even older ones can have a second life by getting a fresh coat of paint over them. If you’re happy about having a coloured coating on your roof instead of just using white primer, you can save money by choosing one of the premixed colour options available in the market today.
Painting Colorbond Roof Sheeting
It’s important to choose the right paint for your Colorbond roof sheeting. You might think any paint will do, but this is incorrect and could lead to a problem down the track
You should also get advice from a professional before painting your Colorbond roof.
The paint you choose should be designed specifically for use on Colorbond material and have a high resistance to UV radiation from the sun, as well as the application by spray or brush. This ensures your paint job will last longer
Be aware that you’ll need to apply an additional coating of primer once the main coat is applied. The topcoat used needs to be compatible with all available primers so there are no issues once it’s dry. You may also need a sealing agent if you’re painting different colours to match existing roofing around your property, but this depends on which paints your contractor recommends It’s best to speak with them directly about this.
Common Colorbond Roof Colours
Colorbond is most commonly found in silver, white and brown, but there are many other colours and colour combinations that can be found if you look around. This means if you’re looking to have a coloured coating on your Colorbond roof instead of just using white primer, you’ll need to choose one of the premixed colour options available on the store shelves.
Depending on how much spray painting experience someone has, it could cost between $5-$20 per square metre for materials alone (not counting labour costs). If they don’t have previous spraying experience before applying paint directly to Colorbond roofs. This work would be best done by people with previous experience or at least people who are trained in these techniques, both of which who are licensed to operate in your Australian state or territory. In both cases, expect this price to go up due to an increase in labour costs.
Painting Colorbond Roof vs. Painting Roof Tiles
The process of painting a Colorbond roof is similar to the techniques used for painting roof tiles. However, there are some differences in this case.
When applying paint to your Colorbond roof, you must use specially formulated paint that’s designed specifically to be applied directly onto metal surfaces as well as many other types of materials and surfaces including wood and can be used when coating plastics or GRP fibreglass sheets which aren’t waterproofed or treated with any type of coating.
While it has been stated above that much like roof tiles – Colorbond material is not recommended to be painted because the oils contained within the paint might react with the zinc-rich primer coat on your Colorbond sheeting – causing blisters to appear at the surface. This is because the paint can’t affect this primer layer, which prevents it from being affected by external elements.
Difference Between Paint a Colorbond Roof vs Paint Roof Tiles
The biggest difference between applying paint to a Colorbond roof and applying paint to roof tiles, however, comes down to the fact that your Colorbond sheeting will be much harder and more rigid than a traditional clay tile would ever be.
While you can apply paints directly onto clay tiles without needing any special types of treatment or preparation beforehand, this isn’t possible with Colorbond structures. This is because they are trying so hard to get an ordinary brush or roller on them could actually damage them if not done correctly, especially if heavy pressure is applied in certain areas of the coating by doing so.
This means that you’ll need to use a special type of paint designed specifically for use on Colorbond material, otherwise the coating won’t last long at all if you do try to apply it to your roof in any other way.
It’s also worth noting that each manufacturer of Colorbond uses a different primer coat material, just like they would with their paints. There’s no special chemical or physical property that makes Colorbond primed differently from one sheeting manufacturer over another, it has more to do with what primer is used by them when manufacturing the Colorbond sheets.
This means that while some colours and colour combinations may be suitable for the application of additional coats of white paint directly onto your Colorbond roof surface, this won’t necessarily mean that a different manufacturer’s blend of primer will be compatible with the same paints.
Because each manufacturer uses their own proprietary mixture of primer and paint in order to level out any inconsistencies which could be found on their sheets, this makes it impossible to apply one brand of Colorbond directly onto another.
Doing so might not only result in you needing to strip back your coating later down the track if any problems arise – but it also means there won’t be an exact colour match as well.
This is why it’s always best to stick with the same brand you have already purchased, just hoping for better weathering results over time even though this means extra costs in terms of labour and materials may also need to come into play sooner rather than later.
Repainting a Colorbond Roof
If you need to repaint your Colorbond roof, there are a few things that you should know before jumping headlong into the process. The most important thing is that if you’re going to paint your Colorbond roof yourself – it’s imperative that you plan ahead and remember:
Don’t rush. Don’t let impatience get the better of you when working with any type of exterior metal coating or paint material, or even this project in particular. If you do decide to go ahead with these kinds of jobs on your own, always make sure that nothing happens which could cause harm or damage to property and also pay very close attention to every aspect of how the job itself is carried out as well. Quality matters more than anything else when it comes to painting on a surface like this, so always take the time necessary to get everything done properly.
Your Colorbond roof will need to be clean and dry before painting can begin. There is also a chance that your material may have been affected by moisture or other elements if it has been left out in the rain or for any extended period of time.
If this happens, you’ll need to take additional steps which include drying out as much water as possible from your sheeting, preferably with the help of an electric de-humidifier, although a blow heater could also work if necessary.
You’ll then want to make sure that these areas are cleaned off using a mixture of natural white vinegar and warm water. This will help remove any built-up dirt or mud which doesn’t come off when washed normally, helping to ensure that your roof is as clean as possible before painting. Remember to protect any areas where paint may come into contact with soil or other surfaces which might affect the quality of your coating down the track, such as gutters and windowsills.
Always test out a small patch of your Colorbond roofing first if you haven’t used this material on it already, especially if you’re doing an exchange installation instead of repairing old sheets or even replacing them with new ones
You don’t want to waste time – let alone money – by having to strip back or repair problems caused by using the wrong type of primer for example. So always apply a small amount of your chosen paint onto a testing area such as a far-away wall, fence post or deck and let it dry to see how the material reacts when exposed to fading, discolouration and other effects over time
If anything does occur, report these findings back straight away in order to avoid any potential issues which might arise further down the line if you don’t compensate with extra measures now.
Preparing Colorbond Roofing for Paint
The first step in preparing a Colorbond roof for paint is stripping off any coating which currently exists on the entire structure. This should be done with care, as it’s also important to remove any existing rust or corrosion that may have formed over time as well.
When this kind of surface needs work done to it, you’ll need just about everything a professional painters tool belt would come equipped with – from power tools and brushes of all sizes, right down to specialised scraping and stripping materials like sandpaper, wire brushes or even metal scrapers.
Wherever one type of issue has begun to form on your Colorbond sheeting, another issue will more than likely have begun forming somewhere else during the same period of time.
Prepare your Colorbond roof correctly beforehand. This means cleaning and priming each area of your roof which you plan to paint separately from the others, then allowing each different prime coat to dry off before painting over them with any other colours or shades. This also means that if you need to strip anything back, or repair the damage, you should do it prior to applying additional coats of paint as well.
It also helps if all loose debris is removed in advance as well, otherwise interfering particles might end up being blown around by weather elements afterwards, resulting in flaking and cracking which could be very hard to fix later down the track.
Common Issues with Painting Colorbond Roofs
It’s common to hear about people having issues when attempting to paint a Colorbond roof, with the most usual problems usually centred around: incorrect materials being used for priming or painting; lack of ventilation during application; and failure in preparing the surface correctly beforehand.
Before you start painting your Colorbond sheets, the first thing that you need to be sure about is whether or not they can be painted at all – especially if they are already covered by a protective layer like a zinc finish coat in the first place. Some manufacturers have strict rules against any type of coating ever being applied to their products, so make sure you check these things before jumping into anything else as well.
Because of this oxidisation, slippery substances can not be used on the roof like most paints. This is where a special coating comes in.
A potential solution to the paint issue on Colorbond roofs is last lasting costing protection. According to Lithofin, they offer a coating called LFS-Oxid Basis which will protect your roof from the elements for up to 15 years.
Metal Colorbond Roof Painting Costs in Australia
The cost of painting your Colorbond roof will depend on many factors – such as where the structure is located, how large it is and also whether or not you’ve hired a professional service to do all the work for you.
However, if you’re looking for some rough figures based on past projects which have been undertaken in Australia, then a very rough estimate would be a price range between $1,500 and $6,000 for certain circumstances, this should give you an idea of what’s typically involved with this type of project depending on a lot of different variables.
How Long Will Colorbond Roof Painting Last?
The life expectancy of any particular exterior metal coating like Colorbond will definitely vary from one individual case to another. There are so many different variables that could end up influencing a paint coating’s lifespan that it’s near impossible to give any kind of accurate estimate as to how long something like this would last.
Depending on your area, the environment and also the quality of the surface coating itself, you should be able to expect anywhere between five years and well over twenty years with somewhere in-between these two extremes depending on other factors such as maintenance and proper care notes shown above.
