Just get a quality Exterior paint!

As long as you're paying at least $20+ per gallon, it's at least decent paint.

A clean, lightly sanded surface is crucial though. If switching to a Latex paint, priming is important.
You could use a good Oil primer, and make the switch to Latex topcoats.

Possibly consider the FPE Oils! These are quite stunning, and will last a Looooong time.

Faron

Thanks. What are FPE oils?

Fine Paints of Europe.
Although you could paint all the trim with that brand, due to the price, you may choose to use it only for the front door. Their Hollandlac Brilliant is the glossiest stuff I've ever seen, makes the entry look like a million.
Casey

Here is a link that might be useful: FPE . com

Thanks. We used a Dutch paint like that (the name begins with an S I think) for the front door and is has held up well and does not need redoing. But you are right that we would not want to use it for all of the trim due to the cost. As for a more regular oil paint since no-one has any specific suggestions we will use something like Duron.

I believe that Schroeder and Fine Paints of Europe are the same thing.

Duron is fine. Oil paint is really not recommended for exterior work any more, just to throw a wrench into the works.

Christophern

Please explain "Oil paint is really not recommended for exterior work any more"

Do you say this because of the environmental impacts or that it does not hold up outside but does inside? I know that there is less VOC in today's oil paint but I thought it was still the best for exterior work for longevity. It has held up on our house very well over the years.

Acrylic paints are certainly the preferred choice for exterior use these days, but the Paint Quality Institute says that if you already have multiple coats of oil, it is probably best to stick with oil. The reasons oil based is bad to use outside is that the color itself will fade faster, the oil based paint film itself is brittle so it will crack faster than a more flexible acrylic paint and mildew will grow faster and breed better on top of an oil based paint.

Thanks Paintguy for this explanation which makes sense. Actually we don't need to paint that often but when it needs doing there are definitely cracks/crazing. But despite the cracks the original 1930s wood is still intact.

There HAVE been some cases I've read about in "Industry rags" where OLD Oil paints have been literally "pulled off" by newly applied Latexes.

PG spoke wisely...
* The older an Oil film is, the "brittler" it becomes, and will fail at some point.
* Because a good Latex pulls slightly when drying, it COULD in rare cases pull off the Oil layers.
* A line as good as FPE uses very High-quality near-PASTES for the colorants. These fade the least of all colorants. There's nothing like this colorant from U.S. lines of paint.
* C2's colorants come from Europe as well, made by CPS-Color/Tikkurilla, a large world-wide industry supplier of high quality colorants, paints, tinting equipment, etc.

Faron

We are from the UK and so are used to glossy oil paint for woodwork and have used it (white) both inside and outside for the 40 years we have been in this house. I haven't noticed any yellowing actually. One day I imagine it will need stripping back to the bare wood but as my husband says we will let the next owners do that! Thanks for all the contributions to the discussion.

" I haven't noticed any yellowing actually."

Put some "fresh" white up against what is on the interior and I would bet you see a difference

I've been doing my homework and researching how to paint Aluminum siding. I know I have to clean and scrub it prior to painting. I know I have to use an oil based primer, because Latex contains amomia, which oxydizes when in contact with aluminum (even Alcoa says this). I know I'm supposed to thin the primer before using it, because it will fill and absorb better. I also keep seeing recommendations about tinting it to be closer to the final color. Everything I've read says to paint a top layer over it within 48 hours.

But nobody actually mentions a brand name that is recommended?

I stopped in at Sherwin Williams and they recommended a primer for aluminum that has to be used within 8 hours of opening the lid, and painted with an overcoat within 4 hours, which cannot be tinted (since it is green) and is not supposed to be thinned (it makes it dry even faster apparently). So, this sounds nothing like what is recommended by all the sites on the web. It is also $85 a gallon. So, I'm frustrated at the moment.

Also, most of the recommendations say to use a Latex top coat with very high Resin content, but someone else says his professional business uses an acrylic paint which works extremely well.

So, I would really appreciate it if someone can manage to actually give me some paint manufacturer's names. I want to do this once and do it right, and have it last as long as possible. So, I'm okay if it is expensive, but I don't want to waste time, effort, and money.
Thanks!

So, I'd really like some recommendations.

Oil paint does not need to mean solventbourn and smelly and "ungreen". Waterbourn alkyds such as Eco from FPE will give you all of the advantages of a traditional oil in an advanced modern

Who wants to spend $50+ for a quart of paint???

It's not really the cost of FPE that I have a problem with. If you sell to the right people, they will buy it. The problem I have with FPE is the way that they market their paints....they claim that it is not a big deal to spend a lot on paint because we spend a lot on our cars, our homes, etc. This may well be fine and true, but to me it has always been about value. If I have a choice between a $50 gallon of paint and a $110 gallon of paint, then I expect the $110 gallon of paint to give me twice the value. It's hard for a paint to be twice as durable as Aura, isn't it? And I never liked the claim that domestic paints only last 4 years. Who says? I painted my dining room ceiling 12 years ago with Super Spec and it still looks great today. Is a domestic paint going to fade so much in 4 years that the average Joe will even notice? I have been painting 25 years now and still have yet to hear my first complaint from a customer that their paint faded too much because I used a domestic brand. I'm pretty sick of marketing on the whole come to think of it. All these companies just say what they want, say what makes them feel good, say what they think will get the customer to buy more, more, more and most of it is pure BS when you actually stop and break down what they are saying. Give me some paint that is bulletproof and that is the day I will say that I will sell your $110 gallons of paint to people and actually feel like they are getting a good deal.

I agree with paintguy that most paints last quite well and you don't have to pay those exorbitant prices although I do like the glossy dutch paints for the front door.

Inside we end up painting again not because of fading but because the cracks in the plaster emerge again after around 10 years or because the grandkids have made marks on the walls which were not easily washed off. Maybe 20 years ago we used to pay the extra for Pratt and Lambert as the colors were much better but I don't think that is true anymore.

I agree about the front door as well. I think there is a time for when using the best paint in the world is appropriate and other times when it is just a waste of money.

I paid $45 total for my FPE Quart (including shipping from VT. to Fargo), and I'd do it again.

* I was quite taken with the Eurolux Matte...how it applied, and low odor.
* Absolutely no spatter whatsoever.
* I've rubbed Soda-pop, water, etc. on/into this stuff. Cleans off perfectly with no trace of anything being there.
* Not bad for a Matte finish!

....but...back to the OP's issue!

>>> Sooooo, if ya want an top-notch Exterior paint, my top 5 would be...
1) FPE Exterior Hollandlac Satin or Brilliant,
2) FPE Exterior Eurolux Housepaint-Satin finish,
3) C2 Exterior Eggshell, Satin, or Semi-gloss. These are in the $40+/gal range.
4) BM Aura Exterior or SW Duration-series.
5) Any other top-line Latex exterior...as long as you're over $25/gal.

>>> This assumes obviously...that good prep has been done!

Faron

. Give me some paint that is bulletproof and that is the day I will say that I will sell your $110 gallons of paint to people and actually feel like they are getting a good deal.

I'm with you.

Faron:

You seem quite knowledgeable about house painting. As a homeowner, what should I be looking for to determine if the people painting the outside trim on my house (a job that is way overdue) are doing "good prep?"

Thanks.

Hi experts,
I just got a quote today for painting my windows (exterior) and was told that we could no longer get oil paint (Ontario, Canada). The rep said that they will wash, scuff sand and then paint with two coats of Aura. I question if this is the way to go or not. They said that with Aura they do not need to primed. Please advise me and thank you.

Hi experts,
I just got a quote today for painting my windows (exterior) and was told that we could no longer get oil paint (Ontario, Canada). The rep said that they will wash, scuff sand and then paint with two coats of Aura. I question if this is the way to go or not. They said that with Aura they do not need to primed. Please advise me and thank you.

"If I have a choice between a $50 gallon of paint and a $110 gallon of paint, then I expect the $110 gallon of paint to give me twice the value. It's hard for a paint to be twice as durable as Aura, isn't it? And I never liked the claim that domestic paints only last 4 years. Who says? I painted my dining room ceiling 12 years ago with Super Spec and it still looks great today. Is a domestic paint going to fade so much in 4 years that the average Joe will even notice? I have been painting 25 years now and still have yet to hear my first complaint from a customer that their paint faded too much because I used a domestic brand. I'm pretty sick of marketing on the whole come to think of it. All these companies just say what they want, say what makes them feel good, say what they think will get the customer to buy more, more, more and most of it is pure BS when you actually stop and break down what they are saying."

I've not used Aura, so I will take you at your word about its durability. However, I do have a small amount of experience with domestic exterior vs. FPE exterior. I did a front door (protected by the storm door and window in cold seasons, but only by the door and screen during warm weather), risers, the top horizontal bit on the porch rail, the botton bit, and some ornamental bits on the porch trim in a FPE hunter green. The porch and stair treads were done in a Benjamin Moore dark purple, and the spindles on the rail and most of the trim was in a Sherwin Williams white. The porch was directly in line with weather - got rained on, got piles of snow on it, got the wind...Granted, the porch and stair treads got a lot of wear and tear, but from my experience, the gloss on the Ben. Moore and Sherwin Williams paints faded relatively quickly, even in places where one didn't walk, whereas the FPE retained its sheen for many years. This is not to say that the "average Joe," to use your words, would have been perturbed by the way the domestic paints aged. But take it from me, I definitely noticed the difference....repainted stair risers every few years to regain that gloss vs. admiring that FPE glow every time I went in or out of the house.

In this current house, we're planning to use FPE for all the exterior doors and trim. Yes, I agree it will cost more at the outset, but my expectation is that, if we move within several years those exterior elements will not have to be repainted. Thus, worth the money to me.

Back to this thread after many years! We now have our basement stairs with new oak treads and a white riser and as we still have some exterior FPE white paint I wonder if the risers would hold up better from toe scuffs than they are doing now with whatever the contractor used on them? Any ideas welcome.

BTW I was the original poster under "mahnrut" then!