Best exterior gloss

[JimM]

I'm hoping to give my exterior woodwork a bit of a spruce up next week, any recommendations on what the best exterior gloss is or are they all pretty much the same.

Thanks

Jim

[Matty F]

I've tried conventional paints for 30 years with poor results. Probably you can't get it in the UK, but I'm now using Wattyl Solagard, which is Acrylic. No primer needed on timber, cement render, brick, fibre cement, masonry, and galvanised iron sheet

[geoff]

In message , JimM writes

Magnolia

[stuart noble]

In the case of white, pretty much all the same. A "liquid gloss" oil based is hard wearing and easy to apply, but discolours over time. An acrylic water based gloss doesn't flow well, looks "tacky", but stays white.

[Dave Liquorice]

If you can get the surface preparation done well the Dulux WeatherShield system (preservative/primer, two undercoats, top coat) has faired pretty well on a south facing window frame for the last five+ years (might be approaching ten), in black. It's mainly failed at knots. I did use knotting but I wasn't starting with fresh timber but previously painted.

[Tim W]

Totally not all the same. I did a little looking into this last year. Briefly a few things to consider:

Any paint labelled non-drip / one coat / easy cleanup / etc will have compromised its primary function of durable finish for ease of application and use. That means no paint aimed at the diy market will give you the best results. Trade paint is better.

Even if the tin looks the same the paint labelled for instance Dulux Weathershield in B&Q is _not_ the same paint as the Dulux Weathershield from the Trade supplier. Totally different product. Suprising but true.

The best quality paints come from companies with the capacity to research, innovate and properly test their products.

Some of the best paints do require the correct primers and undercoats, the right film thickness, right drying times etc. to perform properly. If you are just sprucing up the existing with a quick coat then there is not so much point paying for the best. Any traditional oil based gloss might do the job well.

Is an oil based paint better than a water/acrylicpaint? Yes, of course it is. The move to water based is not driven by quality improvement but by environmental issues and ease of use. You may find environmmental issues are paramount, but don't use acrylic for a durable coating.

Tim W

[Man at B&Q]

I would argue with the last point.

MBQ

[Peter Johnson]

Sadolin Superdec was guaranteed for 10 years; I have it on my fascias and soffits, about seven years old now. Crown Stronghold exterior is guaranteed for six years as is Sandtex exterior gloss.

[stuart noble]

These are not unconditional guarantees though. The paint film won't fail, but your substrate might well do. That's how the manufacturers view it if you ever take it up with them.

[JimM]

Thanks to all that replied

The existing paint is pretty tired to say the least, I've given it all a good rub down with a wire brush to remove the flaky stuff and then gone over it with some 120 grit. In some places it's back to bare wood so I'll probably go over everything with an undercoat/primer and then the topcoat. Sounds like the Dulux Weathershield system may fit the bill?

Cheers

Jim