New Siding, Painting the old Aluminum

My home is sided with white aluminum siding w/ white window trim.Basically the entire house is white. Most are horizontal with a wood like grain imprinted in the boards. There are some vertical pieces up towards the eves of the attic.
I really have disliked the color for some time and would like to change it...

I have thought of painting the house.. Is that an option worth exploring? Do you folks have the pro's and con's to painting verses replacing the siding as a whole?
I already am aware of the cost of paint verses the cost of new siding... But I am sure your pro's and Con's can go much deeper than just that .
I welcome your advice on both .

Thanks ,

Greg~

 

Aluminum siding gets painted all the time. It looks best sprayed but can be brushed [even rolled]

If your siding has a chalky surface, the chalk must be removed first. Washing the siding with TSP [or a detergent] and rinsing with pressure washer [garden hose will work too] usually removes the majority of it. If you aren't convinced you removed all the chalk - add flood's emulsa bond to the first coat of latex paint. This will help the paint to bond to the metal. The chalkier the surface, the more EB you add.

Just yesterday I drove by a house that I painted the alum siding on back in '93 or '94. The paint looks a little tired but the house still looks a lot better than before I painted it. It was a rental and price was a big concern - I washed it, added EB to the paint and sprayed it with 1 coat of satin latex house paint. I don't remember if I used SWP's A-100 or their superpaint.

With proper prep and use of a good paint, your aluminum siding can look good for years to come.