Forcing Vinyl Siding to Color Fade

15 years ago

Hello. I had some HVAC work done on my house, and they had to remove one of the electrical disconnect boxes on the side of the house.

The vinyl siding under the box is a lot darker than the rest of the vinyl siding around it. I had no idea the siding had faded so much after 15 years in the sun. It has gone from a grey-clay to a grey-white. You can actually see the dark spot from the street.

I considered replacing that section, but I know that I won't be able to color match. I thought about taking siding from the back of the house, but the back doesn't get any sun, so it too would be darker than the side.

I am trying to figure out how I can force that spot to become lighter, so it matches the sun fade of the rest of the siding.

Any ideas how to force vinyl siding to fade? Can I use sand paper? Can I use bleach? Should I just try to paint the dark spot?

Thanks,

Chris

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Comments (4)

brickeyee
15 years ago
The UV light from the sun causes most of the fading.

There is not really any way to speed it up.

You could try and mix some paint to the faded color, but that will also prevent the spot from actually fading.
hendricus
15 years ago
If the electric box was not noticeable to you before, just get an empty box and put it back to cover up the spot.
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victoria_stewart
15 years ago
If it is easily reached, you might try wiping it several times with a light bleach mixture. This worked for my grandfathers siding when we had the windows replaced and the original color was exposed once they were finished.

You might also hang something there if it is in a good location for a outdoor plaque, wallmounted bird feeder, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: This DIY book has often helped me.
HU-415751472
2 years ago
What ratio of bleach to water is used to fade new vinyl siding to look lighter