Harold Howard is the owner of Harold Howard’s Painting Service, which is based in Columbia, Maryland, and serves Howard, Baltimore, Ann Arundel, Carroll, and Hartford counties. Here, he explains how to choose the right paint for your house’s exterior.
While a fresh coat of paint on the siding and trim will give your house curb appeal, exterior paint isn’t just for show. It provides an important layer of protection against moisture, mildew, and the effects of the sun. The best exterior paint can both improve your home’s appearance and protect it from the elements for about nine years.
What Is Available
Major brands include Ace, Behr (sold at Home Depot), Benjamin Moore, Dutch Boy, Glidden, Sears, Sherwin-Williams, True Value, and Valspar (sold at Lowe’s). You’ll also see many brands of paint sold regionally. Here at Harold Howard’s Painting Service, we use Duron Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore paint.
Exterior paints come in a variety of sheens. The dullest sheen is called flat, followed by low-luster (often called eggshell or satin), semi gloss, and gloss. The flatter finishes are best for siding, with the lowest-sheen variety the best choice if you need to mask imperfections. Glossy paint is most often used for trim because it highlights the details of the woodwork and the paint is easy to clean. Exterior paint ranges in price from $15 to $40 a gallon. We always use top-of-line paint for exterior jobs.
How to Choose An Exterior Paint
The testing we do on exterior paints is severe, as we expose painted panels on outdoor racks angled to catch the maximum amount of sun. One year of testing is approximately equal to three years of real-life exposure. Generally, most paints will look good for at least three years, some should look good for about six, and top-rated products for about nine years. Most paints also do a good job of resisting the buildup of mildew and preventing the wood from cracking. To determine the best paint for your home’s exterior, consider the following tips:
1. Buy the best: Our tests have found that the grade of paint matters. “Good” or “economy” grades don’t weather as well as top-of-the-line products. Using a cheaper grade of paint means you’ll spend more time and money in the long run because you’ll need to repaint more often. “Contractor” grades of paint that we’ve tested in the past have also tended to be mediocre.
2. Consider where you live: Paints of any color accumulate dirt over time. The top-rated paints tended to resist it better than the others; darker colors hide it better. Good dirt resistance is important in urban areas. Mildew can be a problem in damp areas, from rainy Seattle to steamy Tampa, or on any house that gets more shade than sun. Baking in bright sun can change even the best-quality pigments. Blues and yellows are the most likely to change.
3. Don’t overlook the prep work: Good preparation makes any paint last longer. So be sure you scrape, sand, and clean the siding thoroughly before applying the paint. Also, plan to apply two coats. Here at Harold Howard’s Painting Service, we always to a lot of prep work to ensure a lasting paint job.
4. Tailor your prep work: Our tests are based on applying one primer coat and two top coats to new pine siding. If you’re painting over other materials, different steps may be necessary. Stucco and masonry may need sealing beforehand. Vinyl siding can fade before it fails. But to avoid the possibility of warping, don’t use a color that is darker than the original.
If you plan to sand or scrape paint on a house built before 1978, be warned: The older coats of paint may contain lead, so you’ll need to take extra precautions.
