Putting a new coat of paint on your house provides many benefits. For one, you can improve your appearance with a paint update. It will aid in protecting your home from moisture, temperature & weather changes as well as fading.

There are so many different types and brands of house paint on the market today, making it challenging and confusing to know where you should begin.

Let’s break it down. There are two types of exterior paint oil-based paints and latex or water-based. You will find that latex is the more commonly used of the two.

Oil-Based Paints

  • Contains resin and color with a solvent thinner.  The thinner will evaporate, the resins will form a hard coating, leaving behind the color.
  • Provides better paint adhesion as well as stain blocking.
  • An ideal choice for stained surfaces, chalky surfaces, woods, bleeding woods and metals
  • Provides better surface penetration.
  • Does have a longer dry time.  Anywhere from 8 to 24 hours.

Water-based/Latex

  • Made up of the color, a binder, and water used as the carrier
  • It is breathable, so it won’t trap moisture and peal or crack
  • Latex paints with an all-acrylic binder will hold up better to weather conditions than those with a vinyl-acrylic binder
  • It will expand and contract with the siding on a house
  • It will also expand during warm weather and contract in cooler
  • Has a faster dry time than oil-based paints.  Usually in 1 to 6 hours.
  • It has less odor than oil-based paints
  • It is easy to clean, just use soap and water

Primer

A base coat for paint.  It helps to smooth out the surface you are painting and will help with the adhesion.  

And like paint, it comes in oil- and water- based.

Oil Based Primer

  • Oil-based primer is suitable to use with oil- or water- based paints.  
  • Priming a chalky surface with an oil-based primer will give you better adhesion.  Then you can utilize the benefits of latex or water-based paint.

Water-based or Latex Primer

  • Water-based primers are recommended for most primer applications.  Unlike the oil-based primer, it should only be used with water-based paints.  

Finishes

Like interior paint, exterior paints also come in a variety of finishes.

  • Flat or Matte Finish is generally used for siding.  It will hide imperfections better than a glossy finish.  But, it does not clean as well as a flat finish.
  • Gloss Finish is preferred for trim and doors. It will create a durable and shiny finish that will be easy to clean.  It will accentuate any imperfections making it not as suitable for walls or siding.
  • Semi-Gloss Finish is suitable for windows and trim.  It provides less shine than gloss paint, but it is durable and easy to clean.
  • Satin Finish will hide any imperfections well.  It has a slight gloss making it easier to clean than a flat finish.

Tips:

  • You can apply a water-based paint over oil-based paint, but you cannot or should not apply oil-based over water-based paint.  
  • If you have a surface with more than 4 coats of paint, use an oil-based paint.  Water-based paint can cause the paint to crack and pull away from the surface.