# Best Exterior Paint and What Type of Finish?



## twelvegates (Jun 1, 2016)

It is time to paint my house and I have received various estimates and opinions. 

My immediate concerns are:

1) What is the best exterior paint for a house with wooden siding in excellent condition? (I live in northern Colorado, with lots of very sunny days, below average rain but a good chance of hail, and some snow, though it rarely drifts onto the house.)

2) What type(s) of finishes should I choose for the house body paint and trim paint? 

3) Painters say they will spray gutters at the same time that they paint the house. Any special paint for the gutters?

Thanks in advance. I was thinking Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams, but one of the painters also mentioned Behr's "Marquee" line of paint from Home Depot???

I thought I would go to the experts, so thanks in advance!


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

Let the pro painters decide? if you trusted them enough to hire them, why wouldn't you trust them to choose the right products?


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## twelvegates (Jun 1, 2016)

I haven't hired anyone yet, and all three are recommending three different products, but indicate they will use any product I prefer. When I asked about finishes, they said, "Whatever you prefer."


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## driftweed (May 26, 2013)

2 part epoxy. Water based paints come off with.....water. i would tell them to use ppg amerlock


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## kdpaint (Aug 14, 2010)

Every paint company has a "good, better, best" approach. As a pro painter, I use what I
a) actually like
b) what I like is modified a bit by the pricing of the job, i.e. a house flip is not getting $50+ per gallon paint. If the HO plans on staying there, BM's Aura for $50ish or Regal low $40s is what I like. If $$ is an issue (remember, labor can be >75% of cost, so scrimping on paint cost gets you little savings), maybe I'd go with BM's Ben exterior.

If your favorite company uses SW, ask what they like to use. They'll probably have a pricing structure for good, better, best.

Anyone who says the brand and the type of paint is totally up to you is suspect in my book. Or worse, if they "let" you buy the paint and they supply the labor. That probably means they don't have a vehicle or something shady, like owing tons of $$$ at every paint store. 

Hire a pro, not the cheapest. You totally get what you pay for. I know this because HO's call me to fix crap work all the time.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Marquee. Fire that guy.


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## Repaint Florida (May 31, 2012)

twelvegates said:


> It is time to paint my house and I have received various estimates and opinions.
> 
> My immediate concerns are:
> 
> ...


how did you find the painters to bid?

how did you qualify them as professional painters?

Was it based on price?

.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Repaint Florida said:


> how did you find the painters to bid?
> 
> how did you qualify them as professional painters?
> 
> ...


Great questions. Anyone can powerwash a house and slap on a coat of paint. That's why I dislike Marquee so much. It plays right into the "no prep,no prime, just blow and go" mindset so many of the bottom feeder painters sell with. And if the only criteria set for your painter search is price, that's what you will more then likely attract.

A good place to start is to ask them questions about whatever surface prep they include in their price, as well as how the paint will be applied. If you hear things like "paint AND primer" and "just a quick powerwash" or "we use such and such paint because it doesn't need any prep or primer" go on to the next guy. And if my hunch is correct, you will hear all of those catch phrases from the Marquee guy and probably from a good percentage of the SW guys.Not that the paint is any better or worse, but if proper prep and a proper primer is used when needed the choice of paint brand is much less difficult. Any premium line paint from just about any manufacturer should give years of longevity if the prep is done correctly, so pay more attention to that then the actual paint brand. 

The guys that recommend Marquee are basically depending on Behr's marketing and and perceived warranty to market their own businesses instead of relying on their own quality standards.

Oh, JUST MY OPINION for all you legal beagles and Behr lovers out there. I can hear some of your blood pressure meters sky rocketing from here.


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## ReNt A PaInTeR (Dec 28, 2008)

Benjamin Moore Aura Low Lustre. :thumbup:

I got 99 problems but my Exterior Paint ain't one.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

I have watched a guy carefully strip a clapboard house down to bare wood for the last couple months and happened to see what he was using yesterday. The dreaded Marquee, straight out of the can, NO PRIMER
un freeking believable


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## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

chrisn said:


> I have watched a guy carefully strip a clapboard house down to bare wood for the last couple months and happened to see what he was using yesterday. The dreaded Marquee, straight out of the can, NO PRIMER un freeking believable


I'm not sure if that's depressing or entertaining to think about.


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

slinger58 said:


> I'm not sure if that's depressing or entertaining to think about.


Entertaining for Chrisn to watch, depressing for the guy having to strip it again in a year from now. 

Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

I loved BM Moorgard for siding but I haven't used the new stuff since they switched to the genex system. Now days I mostly use Sherwin Williams Resilience satin on siding and Resilience gloss on trim. :yes:

Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk


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## PRC (Aug 28, 2014)

Rbriggs82 said:


> I loved BM Moorgard for siding but I haven't used the new stuff since they switched to the genex system. Now days I mostly use Sherwin Williams Resilience satin on siding and Resilience gloss on trim. :yes:
> 
> Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk


Give it a shot again, it's still good. I don't use much SW but Resilience is nice to use.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

chrisn said:


> I have watched a guy carefully strip a clapboard house down to bare wood for the last couple months and happened to see what he was using yesterday. The dreaded Marquee, straight out of the can, NO PRIMER
> un freeking believable


BUT, the can AND the 20 year old salesperson at Home Depot said it would work fine! So if it peels I guess that 20 year old and Home Depot and Behr will repaint it free of charge right? WRONG!


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Hard to believe but Dutch Bot actually sells a product that claims that you can paint right over dirty surfaces with no cleaning or primer needed. Yup! You sure can do that! Again, I don't think they will pay to repaint it though. I tried it on a sanded trim around my garage door and it started peeling a year later. Guess it wasn't dirty enough.


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## Gough (Nov 24, 2010)

PRC said:


> Give it a shot again, it's still good. I don't use much SW but Resilience is nice to use.


The Gennex makes it great, I've been blown away by the colorfastness.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

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