Fellas, I’m looking for a good quality exterior house paint for wood trim. The paint I’ve been using isn’t holding up(latex). It’s supposedly a ‘lifetime guarenteed’ paint but starts cracking after 3-4 years and then peeling. Any Suggestions?? Thanks in advance.
P.S. N.H. native
Replies
Curious as to the brand and type of paint. The brands I've worked with over the years, Sherwin- Williams, Benjamin Moore, Cabots etc have been good products. There's a good chance the problem may not be the paint but something else such as moisture or prep work. What type of paint and primer? What type of surface was it applied to (what type of wood, how old, how many coats of existing paint) What prep work was done? Did the same paint failure occur previously?
Edited 12/3/2003 11:16:33 AM ET by jc
JC,
Finish paint is only as good as it's SUPPORT. The support is the integrity of what is under it. You have to know the surface history. Paint failure is caused by few conditions. Most are moisture related the others involve inadequate surface prep. Even cheap paint will last if properly applied over properly prepped surface. Unless of course you are painting over cardboard or using POPLAR in an exterior trim application.
You need to give us more to work with here, a bit of surface history. Type of wood, age, placement, exposure, climate
jimbob
"it is better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission"
jc - The paint originally applied was a benjamin moore product applied over #2 pine. The painter's swore they primed the boards before applying the finish coat's(oil primer). The house is 7 year's old now and they have been back twice to recoat areas where the paint failed. All places the paint failed and flaked off left bare wood so I find it difficult to believe they used a primer.
Regards
I agree, we need a little mor information.
Personally, when I paint outside (not to often, I admit), I strip back as far as I can and prime with oil. Now my pal, who is a full time painter tells me I could use a goo latex as well.
The surface needs to be dry and clean, no mould, scraped, primed and then 2 coats of gooq paint.
Is there a moisture problem in the area where the paint is failing?Quality repairs for your home.
Aaron the HandymanVancouver, Canada
Aaron,
The paint that has failed has been on the trim all around the house.No problems with stain on the body of the house. The house is in N.H. so we experience the four seasons
Regards
Could be any number of things 1. Was the trim stored under cover and dry when it primed/painted? 2. Knots and pitch pockets- if not treated with BIN or other sealers, they can bleed through 3. Improper application of primer/ paint - too cold or application in direct sunlight on a hot day. 4. Mold and mildew- any little black spots on the trim ? 5. Mill glaze- it's the shiny sometimes almost waxy surface left by the planer at the mill and can interfere with paint bonding/adhesion. From the sounds of it, I'd go back to bare wood and start fresh. The link has some common problems and solutions to them. Hope it helps
http://www.sherwin-williams.com/diy/exterior/paint/common_problems.asp
.
Edited 12/5/2003 12:03:16 PM ET by jc
JC,
As I posted below sounds like a mill glaze issue. I checked out the Sherwin Williams web site and their 'Duration ' paint product sounds pretty durable. Any first hand information with this product?
Regards
I haven't used Duration but have heard good things about it. I've used Superpaint which is the line below Duration and can vouch for it's ability to be applied in colder temps (down to 35 degrees). It seems to hold up well. Duration has the same ability to be applied in cold weather. Do a search on the board here, type in Superpaint and/or Duration, there's a some good threads. Regardless of which paint you choose, the underlying problem(s) need to be taken care of. A good long lasting paint job is 95% prep work, good paint and proper application is the rest.
Not to defend the painters but maybe there is a chalking issue. Or someother surface problem with the trim it self. You say the paint is flaking off, in liitle pieces or bigger sheets? And is failing in the same way all over the house? Check out this link it may help you slueth out the problem. Sending us some pics would help to.
It doesn't seem anyone read the part about it being a new house 7 years ago when they originally painted it and that it is bare wood underneath the peeling paint. I think they didn't prime first.
Another cause might be moisture behind the siding causing the primer to peel as well, but I don't think so.
I wonder if they're priming the bad areas before they repaint?~ WebTrooper ~
"But dont take my word for it. I was wrong once and it could happen again!"
Reinvent,
Thanks for the link, lots of useful information there. After reading it would appear there is some type of adhesion problem. I remember the contractor talking about 'mill glazing' of the trim when the problem first popped up, no pun intended. I don't believe the problem is due to moisture or caulking, the paint failure doesn't necessarily occur at joints and the problem is on the trim all around the house, windows, soffits, corner boards, etc. The paint initially develops cracks and about a year later it starts coming off in large pieces, say, 2-3" long.
Now for another question - When to refinish and how do I know when all the bad areas have identified themselves. I don't want to put good paint over what will be another failure.
Regards
My 2 cents............... much as I hate to say it, I think you need to start from scratch- bare wood. If it is mill glaze, all the surfaces need to be sanded to remove it. I don't think you will get a satisfactory job otherwise. A job for next year when the temps are warm enough. One other possibility; were any clear wood preservatives used on the trim? Many of them use paraffin as a water repellant and they can cause adhesion problems. Same with some PT wood.
Sound like mill glaze may be the culprit, kinda like painting on glass. As jc said you will probably have to start from scratch, and rough up with 80 grit.