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Long lasting alternatives to PVC fascias and soffits?

Does what it says on the tin
88V8
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Re: Long lasting alternatives to PVC fascias and soffits?

#425222

Postby 88V8 » July 6th, 2021, 12:53 pm

I hate plastic.
One thing I hate about it is that it's always white.
I remember when houses had woodwork and it was painted all different colours.

Cedar is hard to come by in quantity. Larch likewise.

If you want to cut the work but don't like the look of plastic... get it done in plastic, but paint it.
Yes, you can paint plastic.
Sand it with 100 grit, wipe over with white spirit to remove the release agents, then apply two coats good quality oil topcoat.
Lightly sand between coats. No primer no undercoat. I'd use Sikkens AZ.

Be bold. Two-tone looks great. Green & cream. Red & cream. Brown & cream. Dk green & lt green. Anything but b***y white :evil:

After that, you'll never need to touch it again.

Oh, and if you have plastic windows, paint them two-tone as well.

Gutters and downpipes... aluminium. Painted of course. Aluminium needs a special primer, as I expect you know.

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88V8
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Re: Long lasting alternatives to PVC fascias and soffits?

#425251

Postby 88V8 » July 6th, 2021, 2:53 pm

ReallyVeryFoolish wrote: I don't believe painting the plastic is a great option due to the very large thermal growth from temperature changes. I doubt it really meets the criteria of minimal long term maintenance.

I would have thought so.
But on our previous house I painted various inherited plastic rainware, as I described, and never had to revisit it in 30 years.
If you choose a light colour ... please not white.... that minimises the thermal gain.
And never repainting prevents the paint film from becoming thick and developing its own thermocline.

It perhaps helped that the plastic was already not new. I have read that it takes 12 months for the release agents to come out so that the paint will get a good key. Where I added new bits, I wiped with white spirit as I mentioned.
As with all painting, preparation is king.

In our present house - thatched - we have no soffits or fascias and little in the way of gutters but I would not recommend thatch to anyone seeking low maintenance :?

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Re: Long lasting alternatives to PVC fascias and soffits?

#425310

Postby 88V8 » July 6th, 2021, 6:58 pm

Woodwise, you might also consider accoya.
It is exceedingly durable.
Obtainable here https://www.woodshopdirect.co.uk/planed-all-round/planed-all-round-accoya-timber/ and no doubt elsewhere.
I had some windows made of it, and setting aside my antipathy towards water-based paint, I painted them with Bedec MSP https://bedec.co.uk/bedec_products/multi-surface-paint/ which I hope not to touch again for many years.

Beware of gluing it with PVA https://www.accoya.com/uk/faq/gluing/, if indeed any gluing were involved.

Just don't start researching accoya's environmental footprint.

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