We recently had new bathtub plumbing installed which included the drain pipe going through to the outside. On the outside (see pics) the plumber used copper pipes, stainless(?) pressure fittings, what looks like a stainless steel bracket on the vent pipe, and expanding caulk foam to seal through/against the wall/siding.

I have some of the yellow latex paint leftover from the house paint a couple years ago. Now I am not sure how to prep and paint all of this stuff so it will look good and last.

1) do I need to prep the different metals in any special way?

2) how do I go about trimming that god awful looking expanding foam caulk so it doesn't look like the house has hemorrhoids?

3) is it ok to paint right over the metal, rubber, and stickers on those fittings?

 

Was this a plumber or a handyman that did the work? Sorry to say but that is just plain fugly and really lousy workmanship in my opinion.

First thing is to use a knife and hacksaw blade to trim all that expanding foam off the wall and pipes. Trim it from the hole in the siding to at least 1/4 inch depth and then use a wood filler to bring it back level with the siding. Keep the pipe as clean as possible. The foam on the inside can be ignored.

Scrape and solvent to remove any stickers and price tags as best you can. Wipe down all the metal parts with solvent to remove any oils and grease. It will likely take several coats of latex paint to properly coat the piping and brackets. Try to paint it on with thin coats.

 

I agree - whoever did the work should have stayed around long enough to trim off the excess foam
I've painted very little copper but the only thing I add to Furd's advice would be it might be a good idea to use a solvent based primer over the copper..... but removing any oil from the pipe is the main thing. Unless the stickers come off easily, I'd probably paint over them - no one is apt to notice

 

Thanks for the tips guys. This was kind of an emergency repair to our single bathroom, so did my best to find a reputable plumber and ended up with what I ended up with. I'll follow up with pics of my DYI finishing job when done.

 

I finally finished this up. Removed stickers, trimmed, and patched on weekend one. Sanded and primed on weekend two. Waited through three more weekends of rain. Applied coat of finish paint today.

I was able to clean up most of the god-awful ugly plumbing job pretty well- except for that stupid bracket they installed. At least this wall is in the alley...

Thanks again for the tips.

 

Looks good! thanks for the update