To the discerning homeowner, quality matters. Superb food requires superb ingredients, and excellent clothing has quality in every stitch and fiber. When it comes to exterior house paint, the same is true: quality is key.
When you compare the exterior paint on a variety of Portland homes, you can see the difference quality makes: truer colors, more uniform coverage, fade resistance, and long-term durability. When the paint is in the bucket on a store shelf, however, how can you tell? Do you just choose by the brand name? Or buy the most expensive paint can? How can you tell which exterior paints have the best quality?
Compare the Dry-film Thickness
One important measure of paint quality is the dry-film thickness. As the term indicates, this is the thickness of a coat of this paint once it has dried and cured. The thicker the coat, the better color coverage and long-term durability the paint will provide. A good exterior house paint may have a thickness of 1.3 to 1.5 millimeters, while a premium grade exterior paint would offer a dry-film thickness of 2.5 millimeters or more.
When a paint dries thicker like this, it means that one gallon will cover less square feet of wall space. However, this is offset by the fact that fewer coats may be needed, and the paint will perform better in the Portland rain from one exterior paint job to the next.
What Is the Base?
The paints that people often call “water-based” are actually a latex/acrylic paint. When it comes to exterior house painting, you want a 100% acrylic formula. This gives you the best paint performance for most surfaces.
What Is the Cost?
We would never claim that a product is better just because it costs more. As a general principle, however, it is true that with exterior house paint, you get what you pay for. Most paint brands have budget and premium versions, so just getting a specific brand is not enough. Choose the premium line of a reputable brand. The cost will be higher, but this is due to the greater concentration of high-quality ingredients in the paint. It is simple math: companies cannot afford to put excellent ingredients in cheap paint.
Remember, It’s Not Just about the Paint
Using premium paint is a vital part of a beautiful, enduring paint job. However, keep in mind that excellent products are meaningless unless the painting is performed with excellence. Proper surface preparation and expert application techniques ensure your final product will be a paint job you can be proud of.
Sundeleaf Painting has been providing premium house painting services to Portland’s most exclusive clientele since 1930. Contact us for a free estimate, and give us a chance to show you what exquisite exterior painting really looks like!