What brand of exterior paint to use?

[Ductape]

I like the new Behr Ultra, primer and paint in one. Saving the extra step of priming saves huge in time and expense (frankly, i've always felt the deal of having to prime THEN paint is the greatest sham perpetrated on the American public since 'one hour martinizing'!!!!). I do find that if you are painting a light color over dark, or painting over bare wood (where the old paint has fallen, or been scraped/sanded off) it does take three coats to cover though.

For all aound coverage, crack filling (like where the clapboards overlap), and ease application (like painting upside down on your soffits and not having the paint drip on your head)............. hands down Benjiman Moore wins every time.

 

[hilld]

Sherwin Williams "Super Paint" is hard to beat... coverage, application, hide, and durability are excellent. It comes in both interior and exterior products. Color matching down the line is never a problem... they have been around forever and will continue to be. Go in and meet your local manager, tell them you want to use their paints but need to get contractor pricing to make them competitive with the box stores. They will usually open an account for you and give you contractor discounts to get your business.

I pretty much have to agree. I just repainted the 2 ends of the house as well as the garage door 4 years after the original paint job and the new batch of paint was an exact match. The reason for the repaint was not a problem with the paint, but with the caulking of the hardy plank, rather than to retouch about 30 - 40 caulk joints and end with "spots", it was easier to just reshoot the ends. The garage was a different problem with the glued on trim coming off.

I get contractor pricing from SW, so that is always helpful.

Derek

 

[reb]

Maybe the Behr formula has been changed. I used quite a bit of it on animal sheds, etc., for 10 years or so, up to about 6 years or so ago. I was not particularly impressed with it, but I got it cheap as mis-mixed. When I painted my house a few weeks ago, I did some research and decided to go with Sherwin Williams' top grade. It requires no primer and covers well. I did have to use 2 coats of white on the trim to cover overspray of the gray I used. It wasn't cheap, but I figure it is better to spend a few more bucks for quality than have to do it over too soon. The cost of the paint is a small part of the job, considering the time spent in preparing the surface, masking, etc.

 

[jwstewar]

I know we are talking exterior paint, but I'll toss my .02 in any way. We painted the inside of the house when we built it. We used Sherwin Williams Durations. Awesome paint. Easy to use, for the most part one coat coverage. When it came to the interior of the garage, we just went to Lowes thinking we would save a few bucks since chances are we would have to repaint it pretty quick from dirt. We bought the best Valspar they had. It was crap. Ended up taking 2 coats of white to cover the "white" primer that I put on it. It was like water. Bad drips, runs, edge lines. I'm getting ready to repaint it again. Even though I have some of the Valspar left, I won't be using it. I'll go to SW & get more durations.

 

[ScottAR]

We use Sherwin Williams for the most part, some Pratt and Lambert depending on property. Pratt's is a little cheaper, Sherwin is a little thicker.

Side story...
One of my landlord friends has a bottomless bucket of interior paint. He buys mis-tints for $3-$4 a gallon as long as it's a light color till the bucket gets full. He stirs it up, and paints. Bought 15 gallons of pink a few weeks ago in 5 gallon buckets. He mixed in a gallon of dark brown between them and made a nice tan.

 

[/pine]

I've used all the popular brands from the major retailers (box stores and name brands) and the only one that I have used that does not "chalk" after a few years when you run your hand over it is Zinsser's

 

[Charlesaf3]

Haven't used all of them, as Ben Moore has always worked for me. Around here you'd be hard pressed to find a contractor who uses something else.

Latex for outside. And brushing stays on better - if you spray, brush after. Or so I've always heard, and matches what I've seen. Spray seems rare around here, its picked up a bit of a bad rep.