Picking the Right Paint for Exterior Painting

If this doesn’t answer your questions about picking the right paint for exterior painting please feel free to call me at 509-551-1060 for advice. I would also suggest going to a store that specializes in paint such as Sherwin Williams, Rhoda, or Standard Paint & Flooring. If you can, seek advice from the store manager. He or she will have the most product knowledge and likely more real-world experience.

Do NOT Go To A Big-Box Store Like Home Depot Or Lowes For Advice On The Right Paint

When I was a kitchen designer for Home Depot at the same time I was running my painting business the associates in the paint department would regularly send customers to me in Kitchen Design to get advice. The associates in the big-box stores have had little training and even less real-world experience. Sometimes they couldn’t answer the most basic questions.

Will The New Paint-And-Primer-In-One Paints Save Me From Having To Prime First?

Maybe. It depends on how much the surface is going to soak up the first coat. With raw wood, especially if it has been exposed to the sun for prolonged periods of time, the first coat will not cover. You then end up putting two coats on even with the advertised one-coat paint. In those cases, it would be less expensive to just spot-prime the bare wood with a primer because even a good primer is less expensive than paint.

My Go-To Paint for Exterior Painting in the Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick Area

Exterior SuperPaint Satin by Sherwin Williams. They do have more expensive paint but my inside sources tell me they aren’t any better than Superpaint, especially for exterior painting. Superpaint offers the best fade resistance, adhesion, and flexibility which are needed for exterior painting in the harsh conditions we have here in the Tri-Cites. Our sunshine here is brutal so you need the best you can get.

According to Sherwin Williams:

Count on SuperPaint® Exterior Acrylic Latex to deliver outstanding performance and protect against the elements. Cold and frosty or hot and humid, this formula goes on smooth and resists fading and peeling. And thanks to its advanced acrylic resin technology, you’ll enjoy outstanding adhesion and color retention. SuperPaint offers a dirt-resistant and mildew-resistant coating.

As a testament to the longevity of Superpaint, when I got my start as a Tri-Cities painter with a new-home builder at the north end of Road 44 in Pasco a few of the buyers bought their spec homes before the painting was done so were able to specify higher quality paint and pay the extra. Those homes were painted dark which is more susceptible to fading but they still look great 19 years later as of 2023.

Painting Stucco

For painting stucco exteriors you need what’s called an elastomeric paint which expands and contracts better than other paints. I don’t recommend the Elastomeric brand of paint because it puts on a super thick coating which will flatten out your stucco and make it look less like stucco. SuperPaint fills the bill for that application.

I hope this helps. If not, please feel free to call me at 509-551-1060 for advice.

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