Silicone has gained a reputation for being notoriously difficult to paint so if you’ve got silicone around your door frames or window frames and are in the process of painting your home, you might be wondering whether it’s ok to paint over the silicone sealant and if so, how do you paint over it?
Can You Paint Over Silicone?
With the right preparation and specialised sealer products, it’s definitely possible to paint over silicone. However, even with the correct preparation, it’s debatable as to how long the paint will last and results are typically variable.
How To Paint Over Silicone
As silicone is glossy, the most important step when painting over it will be to use a primer. If you want to paint over silicone or silicone sealant, follow these steps:
- Clean any dirt, grime or dust off the silicone
- Prepare the silicone for painting by applying a coat of primer on top of it
- Allow the primer to completely dry
- Once the primer is dry, apply your topcoats
Can You Caulk Over Silicone?
Whilst you can indeed caulk over silicone, it’s usually more effective to simply cut out the silicone and then re-caulk the area. Cutting out silicone can be a laborious process but in the end, will save you more hassle as caulk struggles to adhere to silicone.
Primers You Can Use For Silicone Sealant
Zinsser BIN is the best product you can use for priming silicone sealant. Be wary though, it doesn’t always work, especially if the silicone sealant is fairly new.