Faded Vinyl Siding

LESLIE: Bonnie in Colorado needs some help with the curb appeal of her home. How can we help?

BONNIE: Yes, hi. I had a question about restoring some very faded vinyl siding. My mother put siding on the house probably about 20 years ago and it’s a medium brown color. And where the sun hits the side of the house, it has turned into kind of a pale, greenish-tan, yucky, faded color. So I’ve heard of a couple of products that you can spray on that are supposed to bring it back but I didn’t know if those really work or if you had a brand to recommend or …

TOM: Well, you’re talking about UV degradation and the color in the vinyl is solid. And while you can change sort the U of it – have you ever used a product called Armor All on your tires?

BONNIE: No, but I know of it.

TOM: Well, if you put Armor All on your tires – and those that have used it know exactly what I’m talking about – you can take the dull, gray tire and it sort of turns it to shiny, cool-looking black.

LESLIE: (overlapping voices) Shiny, dark gray.

TOM: Yeah, it looks like real neat. And that’s kind of what those products do. They sort of give you a bit more sheen and they will change the color a little bit. But then again, they have to be repeated from time to time because as anyone who’s used Armor All knows, it lasts until about the first rainstorm; sometimes less. (Leslie chuckles) But that’s their marketing strategy. You’ve got to go out and buy more. So you’re not going to change it permanently but it might make it a look a little bit better.

BONNIE: OK.

TOM: And so what I’m saying is, I wouldn’t have unrealistic expectations that you’re going to maintain a color change over the long haul if you do this.

BONNIE: Well, thank you so much for your help.

TOM: You’re welcome, Bonnie.

BONNIE: That covers what I needed to know.

TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.