Fibre-cement cladding – peeling or flaking paint

This page applies to fibre-cement sheets with battened joints, jointers or an open-drained joint.

If the cladding was installed before the mid-1980s, there is a possibility that it may contain asbestos fibres. Polite and Fibrolite are two examples of asbestos-cement cladding. For paint failure on this cladding, follow the steps outlined here.

For paint failure on texture-coated flush-finished fibre-cement cladding, see the page here.

Causes

Thermal expansion and contraction 

Loss of adhesion due to moisture being absorbed by the substrate

Poor initial substrate preparation

Solventborne (alkyd) paint applied over waterborne (acrylic) paint

Surface was dirty when painted previously

Dark colours 

Cause

Thermal expansion and contraction 

Repair

  • scrape and/or sand off loose paint; allow to dry; sand until surface is sound; prime; paint with a minimum two coats of semi-gloss or high gloss acrylic paint

Cause

Loss of adhesion due to moisture being absorbed by the substrate

Repair

  • scrape and/or gently sand off loose paint. Waterblasting is not recommended for fibre-cement claddings. Total paint removal may not be possible

  • when the surface is clean, sound and completely dry, paint with a minimum two coats of good quality acrylic paint suitable for fibre-cement, following the paint manufacturer’s instructions

Cause

Poor initial substrate preparation

Repair

  • scrape and/or sand off loose paint; seal; paint with a minimum two coats of semi-gloss or high gloss acrylic paint

Cause

Solventborne (alkyd) paint applied over waterborne (acrylic) paint

Repair

  • follow the first repair, gently removing as much of the solventborne paint as possible, and repainting with waterborne paint

Cause

Surface was dirty when painted previously

Repair

  • follow the first repair, ensuring that the cladding is completely clean and dry before starting to paint

Cause

Dark colours 

Repair

  • scrape and/or sand off loose paint; seal; paint with a minimum two coats of light coloured semi-gloss or high gloss acrylic paint