CB3 Painting, LLC
WOOD SIDING PAINTING
Exterior wood siding painting done right requires expertise, experience, and a little bit of patience.
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How to Prepare Wood Siding for Painting
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Any good exterior wood paint job starts with extensive preparation. Failing paint must be scraped or, in some instances stripped completely, rotting or otherwise compromised wood must be removed and replaced, and gaps and cracks in your home's exterior surfaces must usually be filled with the appropriate composite or wood
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Before Painting Wood Siding, Any Bare Wood Siding Must Be Primed
Priming is important. After proper preparation, exterior wood should be primed with an exterior, oil-based primer for high tannin woods, such as cedar or knotty pine, and top-coated with two coats of a premium exterior paint product.
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When priming or top coating a wood surface, it is important that the wood be dry--so it should not be painted too soon after rain, in high humidity, or if the dewpoint is too close to the current temperature. Likewise, given the temperamental nature of wood, it should not be painted when the temperature is too hot, or in direct sunlight.
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How to Select a Paint for Exterior Wood Painting
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After surface preparation and proper priming, the selection of a good paint product is critical for a beautiful, long lasting paint finish. Commercial paint product used by commercial grade painters should not be used if you are seeking a paint job that does not have to be redone every few years.
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Here are a few exterior paints to avoid, ad a few worth considering for your exterior wood
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Inexpensive, Contractor-Grade Exterior Paints
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Benjamin Moore Ultra Spec EXT--$38.99/gallon: This waterborne exterior paint will do the job required of an exterior paint, but the service life of the coating will require regular maintenance coatings--likely every 2-4 years. You'll see fading pretty quickly, especially in high sun areas.
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Sherwin Williams A100 Exterior--$49.49: This exterior paint from Sherwin Williams has been around a long time. It is self-priming on a variety of surfaces and is an economical choice for exterior surfaces where you "just need to get it painted." It's easy to use and covers pretty well, so commercial painters love it. It doesn't have the best final appearance compared to other, higher-quality paints offered by Sherwin Williams. But in a flat sheen, it really is dead flat.
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Premium, Experienced-Residential-Painter Grade Exterior Paints
Benjamin Moore Regal Select--$63.99/gallon: Advertised as having a "durable finish that resists fading, cracking and peeling so every job looks freshly painted for years", in my experience, this paint performs as advertised. A great looking, durable paint.
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Benjamin Moore Aura--$74.99/gallon: The finest exterior paint Benjamin Moore makes, this paint lasts and lasts. High adhesion, durable, looks beautiful. Worth the cost over less expensive, lower quality paints.
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Sherwin Williams Duration--$80.99/gallon: This paint has been a premium SW choice for almost 15 years. It is formulated to cover well, stick to difficult surfaces, level nicely when applied by brush, roll, or spray, and, as the name implies, is incredibly durable. This is my go-to exterior paint.
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Sherwin Williams Emerald Rain Refresh--$105.49/gallon: A new product for SW in 2020, Emerald Rain Refresh is a "self-cleaning" paint that is designed to clean itself each time it rains. Normally, to clean a homes exterior, a powerwashing is required to get dug in dirt and grime off the paint's surface. With Rain Refresh, each rainfall, or a simple hosing off, carries the dirt away--even in a flat sheen. This is a great option if you have an old home and want a dark color. A flat sheen will hide the age of the substrate, but without compromising the long-lasting look of the paint.
A Professional Residential Wood Paint Job with Premium Paints Saves You Money
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Experienced residential painters know that better paints cost more now, but save you money over the long run because better paints need to be repainted less often. So over the lifetime of a home or building, you have to paint less, and so save on regular repainting.
On an exterior wood painting project, the cost of using a low quality paint over the long term far exceeds the savings realized today. For example, assume the labor cost to paint your cedar shingle sided home that is approximately 2,500 square feet is $7,500.00, and the paint needed to complete the two coat job is 20 gallons total. Exterior paint is a bit more expensive than interior paint, so let's assume a contractor grade paint costs $40/gallon and will likely last about 3 years before it starts to look tired and faded and need to be repainted to retain its wood-protecting qualities. Under this scenario, the total cost to paint this 2,500 square foot cedar shingle sided home this one time will be $8,300 ($7,500 labor + $800 paint). But over a 15 year period, to keep the home looking new, the home will have to be painted 3 to 5 times. Over 15 years, the cost to maintain the paint on your cedar shingle wood sided home can range from $25,200 to $41,500.00. And if you skip the repainting and let the year pass without repainting, the paint will deteriorate, the bare wood will be exposed, and the wood will rot, fall apart, and over time, expose your home to all manner of potential damage.
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On the other hand, assume you would like to use the best exterior paint available so you don't have to paint again for 15 years. That paint will cost you about $100/gallon. Using a high quality paint, the labor remains the same, $7,500.00. The number of gallons needed also remains the same, 20, so the total paint cost will be around $2,000. All-in, you can paint your cedar shingle wood sided home one time for $9,500.00--about $1,200 more than if you used inexpensive contractor paint. However, you won't have to worry about painting it again for years and years. No repainting for for resale, not because the HOA is complaining, and not because the paint was cheap the last time. The paint will last longer, look better, and protect your wood siding more effectively. Over 15 years, that additional $1,200.00 today will have saved you between $17,000 and $33,000 in repaint costs. The better paint pays for itself.
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So that's how better paints save you money. Oh, and better paints don't just save you money long-term. With better quality paints, because they look better and are more durable, you're actually going to be much, much happier with the paint job for a lot longer.
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How to Hire a Residential Painter for Your Wood Sided Home
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A professional residential painter will use the professional process above from start to finish, noting and accounting for all of the above conditions. Doing so will ensure sound adhesion, long-lasting colorfastness, and a durable finish. And of course, ground and site protection to preserve your home's windows, bushes, flowers and other exterior elements from paint or debris is crucial.
If you are considering painting your wood sided home, you can contact us to schedule an estimate here, or send us an email here.
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