can fypon be painted?
Fypon Polyurethane products come double-primed with an exterior grade coating. What finish coat material should be used? The surface has a consistent quality and finish that never needs painting - no sanding, priming or sealing. These products may be painted, if desired, but is not required.
By Todd Fratzel on Product Reviews, Siding & Trim
Fypon Urethane Millwork is a great alternative to regular wood millwork for interior and exterior applications. I’ve used their products on both commercial and residential applications with great success. Fypon manufacturers low-maintenance urethane millwork and PVC Trim as solutions to decorative millwork needs.
Fypon produces an extensive line of millwork to fit almost any application. Some of the urethane millwork products include:
Urethane millwork offers several distinct advantages over traditional wood millwork as noted in the following table.
Recently we installed Fypon Urethane Door Surrounds on our modern colonial home front doors. Urethane millwork is very easy to install and it’s a project that most any DIY’er can handle with some basic tools and proper planning. The installation is very easy for two basic reasons: first of all the material is light and easy to handle for one person, secondly because the mouldings are one complete piece (the profile is one piece where traditional wood would require multiple pieces) they are very fast to install.
Installing Fypon Urethane Millwork is so easy. First of all Fypon provides great installation instructions for all of their projects. Urethane millwork can be installed with either nails, screws or masonry anchors. For our project we used stainless steel trim screws. We simply pre-drilled the millwork with a countersink drill bit, applied PL Premium Construction Adhesive to the back of the piece, then screwed it securely in place with the stainless steel screws.
Our installation was quite easy because we already had flat stock PVC trim around the door. The existing flat stock had built in receiver channel for the vinyl siding which greatly simplifies the installation process.
First we installed the crosshead above the door. As you can see in the adjacent photo the crosshead is one single piece (traditional wood would require four separate mouldings to create). We applied the recommended PL Premium Construction Adhesive to the crosshead and then attached it with stainless steel screws.
Next we measured the distance from the porch deck up to the bottom of the crosshead. The pilasters can be simply cut using a miter saw. Again we applied adhesive and screwed the pilasters to the existing PVC casing with stainless steel screws in countersunk holes.
After the pilasters were installed we installed the pilaster plinth blocks that come with the door kit. As you can see in the next photo the plinth block completes the look and proportions of the door surround. The plinth blocks were installed using the recommended PL adhesive and the stainless steel screws.
The plinth blocks are really easy to install. They actually fit over the top of the pilasters. This is a nice detail because any shrinkage in the length of the pilasters due to temperatures will not show.
After installing all of the door surround parts there are two final steps. First we filled all the screw holes with a quality wood filler, let it dry and sanded the spots smooth. Finally we applied two coats of quality latext exterior paint (we happen to like Sherwin Williams brand paint).
Another great advantage to these urethane millwork products is ease of repair. If you dent, ding, scrap or knick the urethane pieces they can easily be repaired using wood filler or automotive filler. You can cut, modify and fabricated customized pieces for any application just like you would with wood.
As we mentioned before, we’ve used this product before and we’ll continue to use it. Fypon urethane millwork looks great, installs quickly and requires far less craftsmanship compared to similar moulding profiles built from traditional wood pieces. As you can see from the before and after photo below the door surround looks great and accents the door nicely.
Fypon is the most popular brand for decorative trim and molding. It’s an excellent choice for anyone looking for elegant and unique molding to accent their home interior. Fypon is not a material in and of itself. Fypon is a brand, and the product is made of urethane foam molded into various shapes and styles. The final product is a hard and moisture-resistant material that is great for interior and exterior settings.
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Fypon has unique decorative attachments for your home, and that has obvious benefits to the street value of your home. Here is a list of some of the pros:
Pros
Fypon has a closed-cell structure, which makes it resistant to moisture and infestation. That’s particularly beneficial if you plan on using Fypon on your home exterior.
However, there are some minor cons to Fypon that you might want to consider.
Cons
Since Fypon is hardened urethane foam, any texture on it is artificial. If you attempt to sand it, you will change the texture of the surface permanently. Sanding is a standard part of the painting process, and skipping sanding can greatly reduce the paint’s lifespan.
However, since it isn’t a standard building material like vinyl or wood, we get asked a lot “can you paint Fypon?”
The answer is yes. According to Fypon’s website, the material comes “double-primed with an exterior coating.” Painting isn’t necessary for Fypon products, but you certainly can paint them to refresh the style.
Fypon has actually collaborated with Sherwin Williams to create a few paint bases that match their factory priming product. Here are the details, as listed on their website:
“Fypon® Oatmeal:
Resilience™ exterior latex
Product #K43W53
Sheen: satin
Base: deep base
Fypon® White:
Resilience™ exterior latex
Product #K42W51
Sheen: flat
Base: extra white
No colorant needs to be added to the formula. Quart and gallon formulas are shown below:
Quart formula
W1:
white 4/32, 1/64
B1:
black 7/32, 1/64, 1/128
R2:
maroon 4/32
Y3:
deep gold 15/32, 1/64, 1/128
Gallon formula
W1:
white 18/32
B1:
black 7/32, 1/64, 1/128
R2:
maroon 15/32, 1/64
Y3:
deep gold 63, 32”
If you want a color other than the ones used by Fypon, that isn’t a problem! We can paint any color over Fypon without any issues, and it will blend seamlessly into your other trim. Fypon is already a durable product, but high-quality paint is a protective barrier that will keep it (and the rest of your house) looking great for years to come.
