Painting Aluminum Gutters and Guards in St. Louis

Aluminum gutters in St. Louis usually arrive with a factory finish that is baked on, and for a while it does its job. Then the sun, the freeze and thaw cycle, and the spring pollen work on it. The finish chalks, the color fades on the south side first, and by the time a homeowner notices, the gutter may look worn even though the metal under it is sound. Painting can bring the line back to a clean color. It can also peel within a season if the prep was skipped, and some guards should not be painted at all. This page is for the homeowner who has already decided the gutters are worth keeping and wants to know what painting them involves before anyone quotes a price.

Gutters and guards

Start with what the paint has to stick to. A factory finish on aluminum is smooth and slightly oily from manufacturing, and a topcoat applied straight over it can lift in sheets as it cures. The usual approach is to wash the surface with a degreaser, rinse it, scuff it with a fine abrasive pad until the sheen is dull, and wipe it dry. Then a bonding primer made for aluminum goes on, and the exterior topcoat follows after the primer has cured. Ask whether the job includes that full sequence or only a wash and a coat of paint. A wash and a coat is the cheap version, and it is the one that peels.

Weather decides the timing more than the crew does. Exterior latex needs air and surface temperatures within the range the label gives, commonly somewhere above 50 degrees and below the high 80s, and it needs the surface dry for a stretch before and after. In St. Louis that puts most of the work into late April through early June, and again from late September into early November. Painting on a cold morning leaves dew on the metal that the paint cannot bond through. Painting in full August sun on a south-facing run lets the surface get hot enough that the film dries before it levels, and the brush marks stay.

Look at the seams before you look at the color. Paint covers a cosmetic problem. It does not close a joint that has come apart at the end cap or at a corner. A gutter that is sagging, pulling away from the fascia, or holding standing water in a low section needs the hangers or the joint fixed first, or the new paint will carry the same fault. Pitting at the bottom of the trough, where water sits after every rain, is another sign that the metal itself is thin, and a coat of paint will not restore it. Walk the run with a flashlight after a rain and mark the wet spots.

Guards are a separate question. Solid aluminum or vinyl guard tops can often be cleaned and painted, but mesh, screen and perforated guards are different. Paint thick enough to cover a mesh wire narrows the openings, and a guard that was built to pass water can start shedding it over the trough instead. Foam and brush inserts do not take paint at all. Before anyone paints a guard, check whether the manufacturer's instructions say anything about it, and look at how the guard attaches. If the guard is fastened with clips that the painter has to remove, the crew should expect to handle every clip twice.

Hail is the other thing to keep separate. Paint does not repair a dent in a gutter or a guard, and dents from hail are a question for your own insurer. A roofing contractor is barred under RSMo 407.725 from representing or negotiating a homeowner's insurance claim, and that bar covers gutters just as it covers the roof. Keys documents the damage with photos and measurements and gives you a written scope. What your policy pays for is between you and your insurer.

What it costs

The price of painting gutters is driven by linear feet, height, and prep. A single-story run on a flat lot takes a crew less time than the same footage at the second story on a steep pitch, because the ladder work and the setup take the hours. Prep takes longer than the painting itself. Scraping loose paint, scuffing, cleaning, masking the fascia and siding, and protecting the landscaping add labor before the first coat goes on. A quote that lists only the paint and not the prep is a quote that has left out most of the work.

Ask whether the price is per linear foot for the gutter alone, or for gutters and downspouts together. Downspouts are a separate piece of metal with their own elbows and straps, and a crew that paints the trough but skips the downspouts will leave a two-tone run. Ask also how many coats are included and whether the primer is listed as a separate line. Two coats of topcoat over a primer cost more than one coat over nothing, and the difference should be visible on the quote.

Painting also has an opportunity cost. If the gutters are close to the end of their useful life because of pitting, failed seams, or a sagging run, the money is better spent on replacement. Replacement brings a new profile, new hangers, and a new finish. Painting an old gutter that will be replaced in two years is paint you will not get back. Ask the crew to say, in writing, what condition they expect the metal to be in after the prep, and whether any section should be replaced instead of painted.

What to ask

• Does the price include washing, scuffing, a bonding primer, and two topcoats, or only a wash and a coat?
• What is the exterior topcoat, and is it rated for the surface it is going on?
• What temperature and dew conditions will the crew wait for before starting and before stopping?
• Are downspouts and end caps in the price, and do they get the same finish as the gutter?
• Will any guard be painted, and have the guard maker's instructions been checked for that?
• Which sections will be left as they are, and which will be replaced because the metal is pitted or the joints have failed?
• Who fixes a sag or a loose hanger found during the work, and is that a separate line on the quote?
• Who is responsible for paint that peels in the first season, and what is the written remedy?

Get the answers in writing before the drop cloths go down. A gutter painting job is short, but the questions that matter are the ones about the metal underneath, and a crew that answers them plainly is one you can check. Keys Roofing can be reached at (314) 220-2333 to talk through what a gutter scope should include.