[skipaola]

I recently trimmed out a porch using Azek (and some Versatex) vinyl 1x trim boards. While the faces look great and clean up easy, any where I have a cut or routed edge, it tends to get dirty very fast and looks bad.

I've tried cleaning first with TSP, then at the recommendation of the Versatex rep. used acetone. The TSP cleaned it up but it looked dirty again after a month or so. The rep told me that acetone will help by closing up the pores, but so far that appears to be only a marginal improvement at best.

I'm sure part of the problem is the contrast between the bright white face contrasted with the dirty edges. But the entire purpose of using vinyl was to reduce maintenance, not add cleaning every couple of month or so.

Has anybody else had this problem? If so, has anybody found a fix?
Thanks,
Tom

 

[Ron6519]

Did you try sanding the edge so it was as close to a smoothness level as the face?
You might need to go down to 220 or 320 grit. Maybe further.
Ron

 

[Tom Struble]

eveybody has had this problem,the problem is pvc trim is actually a very dense ''foam'' and as its cut or milled or even sanded more of the tiny bubbles are cut open,i've found the best way to deal with it is to paint it

you can now get some trim boards that have the same surface on all sides

 

[skipaola]

You would think the vinyl trim industry should be looking for some kind of answer since this is a known problem.

I will try sanding it smooth to see if that helps. That would make sense that if there is less for the dirt to grab onto, it should stay cleaner. Guess that is the same theory as using the acetone to close up the pores. Maybe sanding and acetone combined will help. The factory edges do seem to stay much cleaner.

Painting would solve the problem, but one of the primary reasons for using vinyl was to eliminate painting.

Thanks for the info and replying.

 

[Tom Struble]

the paint will last longer than on wood,i understand your thinking though

they do have a soultion,buy the surfaced 4 side product and use only the pre formed mouldings