Things to consider when choosing exterior paint

Things to consider when choosing exterior paint
January 24, 2022

If you're considering painting the exterior of your home, you'll want to select the best exterior paint possible. While this may seem obvious, when you visit a home improvement or paint speciality store, you'll discover that your selections are practically unlimited and that selecting the finest paint for the outside of your home may not be as straightforward as you expected.

Rather than pointing you to the best product-specific paint choice, this post will focus on the characteristics you should look for in an exterior paint, regardless of where you get it. Because if you get beyond the marketing tricks and gorgeous paint can labels, there are a few distinguishing traits between decent and exceptional exterior paint.

Prioritise Quality Over Price

A higher-quality paint means you'll paint less frequently over time, and you'll get greater coverage when you do. Paint technology has advanced significantly in recent years, resulting in colours that are guaranteed to endure longer than ever before. You may be tempted to save money up front by purchasing a less expensive brand, but you're very certain to run into problems and end up paying more in the long term.

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Durability

The durability of an exterior paint indicates how well and how long it will withstand the elements of nature. This is clearly a source of anxiety for homeowners. If you're going to spend a significant amount of money painting your home or hiring someone else to paint it, you want to ensure that it will last.

Independent consumer testing publications conduct tests on coatings that replicate years of exposure to the elements. And the results – if they come from a trustworthy, non-biased source – can provide an accurate indicator of the projected lifespan of any paint.

If you don't have access to the results of one of these tests when buying, you can always rely on the manufacturer's willingness to stand behind their goods with a warranty.

With that stated, paint makers are aware that homeowners repaint their homes on average every seven years for several reasons. Assuming that any paint will last 20-30 years, let alone a lifetime, as many of the labels say, is only a marketing ploy. However, varying guarantee lengths do suggest varying degrees of coating quality. The shorter the guarantee period, the less reliable the product; you get the idea.

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Retention of Colour and Gloss

Direct sunlight can destroy the binder and pigment in paint, resulting in chalking and loss of gloss. While all paints will eventually lose part of their colour and shine, lower-quality paints will often lose them considerably sooner than higher grades.

The two worst offenders are non-acrylic latex paints and oil-based paints. Take precautions and use at least a mid-grade 100% acrylic paint.

Latex or mineral oil

Do you ever wonder why people no longer use a lot of oil-based paint? Indeed, you're unlikely to find it on the shelves at your neighbourhood paint store these days.

To be sure, there is a reason behind that. For one thing, the ever-tightening legislative limitations on VOCs (volatile organic compounds) would have taken it off the market anyway. However, the true reason is that it just cannot match with the performance of items made entirely of acrylic today.

A good acrylic will retain its flexibility much better than an oil will, expanding and contracting with the surface beneath it; it will retain its colour and gloss much better; it will tolerate low temperature application better; it will resist mould and mildew; and it will be much easier to clean up when working with it...to name a few.

In summary, we recommend using oil-based paint in areas that will see a lot of wear and tear. The endurance of an oil-based paint is best used when applied to 'constantly used surfaces' such as doors, skirting boards, windowsills, and drawers. Due to its durability and moisture-resistant characteristics, oil-based paint is a clear winner for your bathroom.