What Makes a Quality Exterior Paint

22 Jun What Makes a Quality Exterior Paint

When you walk into a paint store, you’ll be greeted by numerous options. How can you best make sense of all of them when looking for the best paint for your home’s exterior? Here’s a look at how to choose exterior paint, broken into four steps and decisions you’ll need to make along the way:

1. Type

One question you’ll want to answer before exploring any exterior painting option is, “What kind of paint should I use on my house’s exterior?” The two broadest categories of paint types are water-based and oil-based. For home exteriors, you almost always want to use water-based paints. They provide excellent coverage and dry quickly.

In some situations, however, oil-based paints will work best — including in circumstances when you don’t want your wood to bleed or your metal to rust. As always, it’s a good idea to ask an expert before you make a final decision on what type of paint to use. The last thing you want is to get home and discover that what you’ve selected won’t perform as needed.

2. Brand

Just as with any other product, you can find inexpensive and off-brand paints, as well as more expensive paint from better-known brands. Does it matter how much you spend? Does it matter whether you buy a quality exterior paint brand or not? The answer to these questions is, “Yes.” You’ll likely find that more expensive paints offer a better value in two ways.

First, they often require fewer coats to apply, so you’re actually getting more paint for your money. And, second, you’ll typically find that more expensive paints last longer and perform better under extreme circumstances — again, ensuring you get more value for your money. That’s why we tend to lean toward brands like PPG Paints when discussing exterior painting options.

3. Color

When it comes to what kind of paint to use on your house’s exterior, it’s essential to choose the best color. Your home’s exterior carries significant influence when it comes to your guests’ first impressions, and you want to get it right. That may mean saying goodbye to the color you had in mind, especially if it’s a darker shade of red, blue, green or yellow.

Why? Fading. Because of their darker hues, vibrant colors are notorious for fading faster and more noticeably. Since they’re exposed to the sun’s rays all day and every day, they’re often not recommended as an exterior painting option. If you want to maximize the life of your paint and limit the effects of the sun, it’s best to go with an earth-tone, like brown or tan. Of course, if you’re in love with that deep blue color, you’re welcome to bring it home — just know it’ll require more care to maintain.

Helping hands are available everywhere to guide you through the process choosing an exterior paint. Some paint brands, for instance, use systems that help you select the right paint colors for your home. Others offer era-appropriate paint colors that are historically accurate for older homes, which can be nice if you own one. You can also get a color consultation from an experienced service provider to ensure you’re choosing a good color for your home.

4. Finish

Finish is incredibly important when determining what kind of paint to use on your house’s exterior. You can typically choose between matte, gloss or satin. While some finishes are better at hiding imperfections, others are going to be easier to clean. You want to match the finish type to the type of painting you’re going to be doing.

For example, if you’re painting trim, you might settle for a paint that isn’t as good at hiding imperfections, while siding will demand a paint that covers well and that is easy to clean.

The Neighborhood Painting Advantage

Don’t go it alone when wondering how to choose exterior paint. At Neighborhood Painting, we serve homeowners throughout the Greater Kansas City area, assisting them with everything from choosing the right paint to delivering an outstanding paint job. No matter where you stand in the process of selecting exterior paint for your home, we can help.  

Get a helping hand with exploring exterior painting options — and painting your home — by contacting our team for a free estimate today!