Painting Asbestos Siding Problems

Old asbestos shingles on your house aren t dangerous unless you start breaking scraping or otherwise disturbing them.

Painting asbestos siding problems.

In general this siding material can be painted using normal house paints. Other problems caused by high moisture in fiber cement siding are detailed at siding fiber cement moisture levels but sometimes the asbestos cement or fiber cement shingles just look soiled and do not clean up enough to satisfy the homeowner. 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. 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.

Scraping or brushing off old paint from asbestos siding is necessary before repainting but dangerous because it can release small asbestos fibres. The danger of asbestos lies in the particles that escape and can be inhaled. Apply a coat of primer to the newly cleaned siding. 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.

This presents a problem when it s time to repaint the exterior of the house. Normally you d scrap down the old paint from your siding but doing that with asbestos can release dangerous particles into the air. Paint for asbestos cement siding works by creating a permanent polymer based barrier between the asbestos and the elements. Unfortunately asbestos never remains truly untouched because of nature.

Untouched asbestos is just as safe as any other siding or insulation.