Painting House: Best Exterior Paint

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Well I am hoping to slap a new coat of paint on the house. It has been stripped and primered and ready for the final coat. But, my limited paint knowledge doesn't give me much to go on as to what the best quality stuff is. I may be living in the house for awhile and don't want to have to paint it again for a long time.



So, what would you guys suggest? The paint needs to hold up under a lot of sun, low humidity, and a lot of 90s & some 100s weather. There are a lot of brands out there. . . Dutch Boy, Glidden, Behr, True Value, Weatherbeater (not that good I hear), etc. etc.



Thanks,



Vaughn

 

[WyoJim]

Vaughn... I have a son in law in PA that is a painting contractor. I just sent him an E-mail asking him what brand exterior house paint he uses. If he don't answer in a day or so I will call him on the phone and ask him. Hang in there!

 

[TORQUE THIS]

DUTCH BOY!!!

 

[Bud Fox]

I use Finnaren and Haley House and Trim and it holds up very well in hot and cold conditions of the Northeast

 

[Bob Wagner]

Washington State's favorite

Parker Paint



I use the interior and exterior, both are excellent!

 

[KMC]

Vaughn, back in my painting days here in the NW I worked for two different painting contractors. One used Parker and the other Kelly-Moore. Both were excellent paints although Parker is not widely available except in the NW (but since you live here you should be able to track it down) These paints are more expensive but worth it. I really liked Kelly-Moore which is what I have used the most of.



We had one client insist on a job once that we use Sears Weatherbeater (die-hard sears guy ). We reluctantly agreed... Bad choice as he called a week later and it was really chalky looking. It was kind of a "we told you so" scenario. Weatherbeater is loaded with surfactants so I would avoid it for that reason.



As a homeowner now I use the Glidden paint. Based on the research I have done it is actually pretty good paint despite it's lower price. I just painted my house last year and used it with great results.



I have not been happy with Behr as it doesn't cover worth a hoot and overpriced in my opinion. It took three coats on the interior to cover the old paint. I have not tried their exterior products.



Good luck, Ken

 

[PHaller]

best paint?

Only Kelly moore paints!

-Paul R. Halleer-

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Cool, 6 responses already! Thanks guys! Looks like Parker & Kelley Moore is what I should look around for then



WyoJim I'll be interested in what your friend says. Thanks for taking the time to track the info down for me



When I bought my house the previous owner slapped on some fresh paint just to spiff it up for the sale. He used Sears Weatherbeater. . . yeah it took a beating all right. It started peeling badly after just 2-3 years on the east & west ends of the house.



Vaughn

 

[KMC]

Vaughn, don't forget that the paint quality is only a portion of the picture. The bigger portion IMO is an adequate prep job. If you do that right then you are a long way down the road for success regardless of what paint you end up choosing.



Ken

 

['956Wheel]

DUNN EDWARDS is it! Dampen the stucco first... ..... you will be good for years.



Mike



P. S. I have heard that if you smell an ammonia like smell when you open the can it is not good... . its a shortcut to "spreadability".

 

[KMC]

Originally posted by '956Wheel



P. S. I have heard that if you smell an ammonia like smell when you open the can it is not good... . its a shortcut to "spreadability".

It is called a surfactant or surface-active agent and is defined as:

"a substance capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved"



It helps when painting but invariably starts "coming out" of the paint a few weeks later. And it usually does not look good!



A little is ok but some paint co's add way to much.



Ken

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

KMC, talking about prep work, boy can I talk about that!!!! Last fall I spent WEEKS stripping 50 years worth of old loose paint off, sanding it and then coating it with primer. I don't recall what brand of primer I went with but I got it at True Value and it was spendy. It went on good and so far over the winter no sign of deterioration. With all the labor I put into it I was starting to think about vinyl siding, however I do not care for the appearance of it (looks to smooth and unnatural I guess).



I will hit it with a good wash then give it a couple days to dry. It has been around 65-70 lately and supposed to be upper 70s by the end of the week, so figure it's a good time to go after it.

 

[KMC]

LOL, Vaughn. Sounds like you have done it right! A good prep job is a real pain in the booty so I think you pased the test! Whenever I do paint prep it makes me want to :{ but in the end I know it is worth it.



Ken

 

[merryman]

Different experiences are interesting; I used Sears on my home in Medford Oregon (Pretty hot summers). Built the place in 1972 and painted it with Sears(two coats), sold it in 1996; It had been repainted one time with Sears and it looked real good yet when I repainted it a different color to help sell it--no chalking and very little fade. I did the painting both times with an airless sprayer and I am far from a pro. I probably put on more paint than a pro would, but it sure works for me with relatively inexpensive paint.

By the way; do either Sears or Wal Mart make paint? or buy it from one of those major makers?

Present house was painted 7 years ago with Wal Mart paint and still looks about like it did right after I sprayed it on. Here heat is not a problem, but it rains a lot.



Vaughn

ps I will be leaving on a two week trip tomorrow so if any one gets on my case, I can't respond.

 

[The patriot]

I didnt have good luck with sears weatherbeater.

Salesman told me one coat guaranteed. I showed him the color the house was, he said it's guaranteed. OK.



It didnt cover with two coats, so I went back. I opted for more paint rather than the refund. (I have to finish it ... dont I?)

Third coat did it.

Granted it was a tough color to cover, bluish grayish color.

Eric

 

[dresslered]

I've always liked the Kelly Moore Brand.



There was an article in Fine Homebuilding not too long ago with the same question. I seem to recall, one of the best combinations is using an oil based primer (really gets into the wood) and then a quality paint (either water based or oil) for the finish coat.

 

[The patriot]

Kelly moore must be a west coast thing.

We have Benjamin moore, and it's a decent paint.

Eric

 

[PHaller]

paint?

I've used lots of paint as a contractor but I finally settled on Kelly Moore. That said, it does have a single drawback. It's very abrasive. I can pump through 500 gallons of oil primer through my airless and it will work fine but after 50 gallons of Kelly Moore, it's time for a new ram seal and a new tip. 500 galons of KM and I have to get the entire pump rebuilt.

It holds up well, but it sure is hard on a sprayer.

-Paul R. Haller-

 

[WyoJim]

Vaughn... My son in law uses Dutch Boy paints in his contracting business. Says he is working 12 to 16 hours a day. Must not be any recession in that end of the economy.