Chimneys can be painted. The important point on painting chimneys is preparation, for preparation will determine whether or not the paint job will fail in the future. Oftentimes on painted chimneys the paint is applied to cover up a problem or defects in the chimney. Many times, before the house is sold, a chimney will be painted to cover up things such as bad mortar joints, cracked brick, damage to chimney crowns etc. Chimneys have flue tiles on top of them and the tiles can be painted as well.
An important point before painting a chimney is to remove any flaky or loose paint that may be on the chimney prior to painting it. Another point is the choice of paint and primer. At Rooftop Chimney, we use Sherwin-Williams products exclusively, as they have never failed on us. Particularly, Sherwin-Williams Masonry paint or Sherwin-Williams Super Paint. These paints can be matched to almost any existing color as long as you bring in a good sample to the Sherwin-Williams paint store. You would be surprised in our digital age how close or exactly they can match the paint color. You’ll need to keep an eye on the paint as the years go by; if you see any signs of paint peeling etc, then you want to have the chimney painted again, or at least touch up the failed areas. I’ve seen beautiful paint jobs on chimneys that added to the aesthetic of the house.
Another point is that a good paint job will help to waterproof the chimney. Freeze damage to mortar joints and bricks are what keep the repair division of our business active. Imagine an ice tray in your freezer and the expansion and contraction it goes through during freeze/thaw cycles. So the bottom line, is to know that chimneys get painted to hide defects, and chimneys get painted for aesthetic value. A trained chimney mason can tell if a paint job was applied to cover up damage.