How to Paint A Vinyl Shed – Before & After Makeover
Wondering if you can paint a vinyl shed? See our before-and-after makeover, the paint we used, and tips for painting vinyl siding.
If you’ve been around here a while, you may remember that in our last house I repainted our old shed. It was an amazing transformation!
After we moved last year, I had thought about painting the shed in our new yard. However, this shed is vinyl, which I’ve heard you can’t paint. Plus, my husband was not on board.
I gave up the idea for a while, but now that we are settled in the house, we’ve been working more in the yard. The nagging feeling that I wanted to paint that shed wouldn’t go away, so I started to look into it.
Can You Paint a Vinyl Shed?
Yes, you can paint a vinyl shed! After doing much research, I discovered painting vinyl siding is ok BUT you have to use a vinyl-safe paint.
Important to note is that if you are painting over a vinyl siding with a darker color, there is a chance it can warp in the sun. However, using a paint specifically formulated for vinyl siding removes that risk. Apparently, the paint machines won’t mix the color if it’s too dark for vinyl.
Regardless if you’re going darker or lighter than the original color, it still needs to be that formula. Going lighter is a safer choice, but of course I wanted to go darker.
The Best Paint for Vinyl Siding
As I said, to paint vinyl siding you need a vinyl-safe formulated paint.
The issue for me was that when I went into a few different paint stores and asked for this type of paint, 3 out of four people working at the paint desk had no idea what I was talking about. They all kept pushing exterior paint, but regular exterior paint is NOT the same as vinyl safe, from what I understand.
To further complicate my situation, I wanted a custom color.
Fortunately, at one particular Benjamin Moore store, the man working was very knowledgeable and knew exactly what I needed. He looked at my color and knew immediately it would work and that it could be made in the vinyl-safe paint.
How We Painted Our Vinyl Shed
Here is what our shed looked like before I started. There was nothing wrong with it, but the beige color had yellow undertones. That bothered me as I began working on landscaping around the shed because I knew whatever I planted would not pop against a yellow-beige background.
To clean the shed before painting, I used my hose on the jet setting and nothing else. It was enough to remove dirt and debris. I did this the day before I planned to paint so it would have plenty of time to dry.
First, I started with just the doors and the shutters. I painted those white.
After doing that, I actually thought the shed looked worse! It made the beige look even more yellow.
Finally, I painted the rest of the shed in my custom color. With our last shed, I used a paint sprayer. The sprayer no longer works, so I decided to do this shed with a paintbrush and roller. It actually went much quicker than I thought it would.
Paint sprayers are great, especially on exteriors where you can get dirt in the brush. But they take time to set up, clean up, and you need to refill it often. Sometimes it’s easier to just grab a brush and get started.
Our Shed Paint Color
The color of our shed was custom. My idea was to paint the shed to match our house. Only rather than white siding and taupe trim as we have on the house, I reversed the colors on the shed. Taupe siding and white trim.
The paint color was matched to a siding color from James Hardie called Montgomery Taupe. It’s a deep, warm beige with brown/green undertones. It’s a much better backdrop color for plants and flowers than the original beige we had.
You can see more of James Hardie exterior colors here.
Mistakes to Avoid When Painting Vinyl Siding
Be sure that you use a vinyl-safe paint to paint a vinyl shed. Be aware that the darker the color, the more risk of warping in the sun.
And do not buy the paint unless you’re confident the salesperson understands this as well. It’s really not worth painting if there’s any chance the shed can warp and be ruined.
I almost gave up after the first few stores, but I’m glad I didn’t. I’m not sure why this isn’t common knowledge among paint store workers, but maybe not many people are looking to paint vinyl siding.
Is Painting a Vinyl Shed Worth It?
For me, yes! Sheds take up so much visual space in a backyard, and are often the focal point. Taking the time to make it look better will improve the entire yard.
Below, you can see the before and after side by side. It’s a subtle difference, but the tone of the new paint color makes a huge difference.
I love how the new color looks. Now I can go ahead and work on the garden knowing the plants and flowers will stand out beautifully against the deeper, taupe shade. And I love that it coordinates with our house colors.
How We Turned a Basic Shed into a Focal Point
Turning this into a charming focal point is still a work in progress. The landscape is what will add to this look.
I have window boxes to add under the windows, and I’m still working on the flower beds. I have a very specific plan for what I want here, and that will take time to fill in. Gardening takes patience, but I can absolutely envision the final results, and it will be worth the wait.
I love fall and fall colors, so this area will be my late summer/fall garden. I imagine dark reds, burnt oranges, and deep pinks here that will contrast beautifully with the shed.
So far I have Sedum planted. That turns pink in late August and then deepens to a magenta color over the next several weeks. I planted one blueberry shrub, which will turn a fiery red in late fall. They are gorgeous for fall color! I also just planted two coneflowers in similar colors.
At the bottom of the trellis, I planted a new climbing hydrangea as I had on my last shed. Those are slow growers, so it’ll take a while to see those results. I love them because they’re not invasive.
After that, I plan to fill the rest in with foxglove, dahlias, and possibly some hollyhocks. Hopefully by this time next year this shed garden will be abundant with all the fall color!
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