Laminated vs Painted vinyl

[jdann]

I'm looking to do a dark exterior and was wondering what the pros/cons were for laminated and painted finishes?

[HomeSealed]

Both are proven options at this point in time with painted exterior being most common. If you are choosing between two products, I wouldn't let this be a deciding factor either way. There is a false narrative out there that painting vinyl is some sort of issue. Back before properly specified paint coatings existed there was some truth to that, but today its no less reliable than the paint on the exterior of a clad aluminum or fiberglass window in my experience.

[Windows on Washington]

I used to be in the anti-paint camp when it came to vinyl, but we have installs that are nearly 20 years old at this point that look as good as the day they went up. I am a believer.