<p>Ok, I’m calling on the expertise of the CC community.</p>
<p>Our house is mostly vinyl siding and brick but there is a section by our front door that is painted wood and a section of dental molding as well that is painted white. It’s time to repaint and my husband and I are overwhelmed at the paint options out there. Can somebody just tell me what to buy?! lol</p>
<p>Must I buy primer or is there an exterior primer/paint available so we can skip that step? Also, can anyone recommend a particular brand? This confuses me the most as there seem to be several reputable brands out there. I only expect to need a gallon as the area needing painting isn’t that large, so price isn’t the big factor here. My concern is longevity. This part of the house only gets the morning sun. </p>
<p>We are currently painting our house with Sherwin-Williams A-100 (though trim and doors in Resilience). We asked lots of painters. We waited for the big 40% off sale. The folks at the store suggested we buy the less expensive paint (the A-100), even though we could have afforded the more expensive stuff.</p>
<p>Ask me in 15 years and I’ll let you know whether it was a good decision.</p>
<p>I have a brick house with wood trim around the front windows and wood siding on the U-shaped back patio in addition to the eaves, fascia and the front porch ceiling. Also a metal garage door. I painted this myself not quite two years ago and it took me several weekends! I used Sherwin-Williams Duration which is supposed to last forever. I used Zinsser exterior primer which I had tinted the same color as the paint. So far, so good. I have done a lot of interior painting (I actually like to paint) and I thought the Duration was a bit thin and drippy, but the end results were good. I used a brush for all of it.</p>
<p>Might also mention that I went from a dark (though faded) gray to a medium taupe color. If you are repainting the same color, you might could skip the primer, but might need two coats of paint. Don’t know about the primer-and-paint-in-one for exterior, but if you are going back the same color, you might get by with one coat of that.</p>
<p>“Mini - I wonder why they recommended the A-100.”</p>
<p>What they told us is that it lasts “almost” as well as Resilence (we weren;t going to do Emerald or Duration), and for non-professional painters is significantly easier to apply. No one ever seems to take them up on their guarantee for either. (And the guarantee really isn’t worth much, as the cost of the paint - even if you could prove to their satisfaction that it failed - is only a fraction of the cost of painting).</p>
<p>We are using Resilence for the doors, and some trim (has to do with color, which doesn’t come in A-100, and they think the semi-gloss Resilence is signficantly better for this purpose.)</p>
<p>None of them would recommend their own HGTV paint because it has no track record (A-100 is a dollar or two cheaper a gallon). Anyhow, the house is three-quarters done, and looks great!</p>
<p>As it was explained to me, Duration is especially wonderful paint because it will not peel, blister, or crack under high heat or hot sun,very dry conditions, or extremely cold temperatures. That’s what it was designed for. We have none of those conditions, so the cost-benefit advantage was slim to none.</p>
<p>I had to go out to the garage to check… We painted our garage last year (15 months ago) with Benjamin Moore Aura exterior paint ([Product</a> Catalog](<a href=“AURA Exterior Paint”>AURA Exterior Paint)). It still looks absolutely brand new, fresh, bright.</p>
<p>There was one spot where there must have been some weird oil/wood flaw or something else, because the same spot peeled twice until we sanded it down beyond bare wood, filled it with wood filler, and sealed it. However, even overpainting that one spot (months later) created no brush marks or obvious look of repairs having been done.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who responded. I showed everyone’s comments to my husband and we then did a bit of research which was now made much easier. </p>
<p>And the winner is the Sherwin Williams A-100. Seems best for our situation. Now I will wait for a good sale or coupon deal. The current coupons is for $10 off of a $50 purchase and I’m not sure that this paint will cost quite so much.</p>
<p>The paint stores are no dummy. They know when to promote their products. When everyone is painting, they jack up their prices by not giving much discounts. You should buy and paint when you are able, not to wait for the paint price drop. The labor involved in painting is much more costly than the paint itself.</p>
<p>Actually, our experience with Sherwin Williams is just the opposite. They run their 40% sale here in late July, precisely when the largest number of people are painting. (I think their reasoning is that by getting the largest number of people into the store during this period, they create long-term customers. Most people never go anywhere but the big box stores.)</p>
<p>We use Dunn Edwards, and have been very satisfied. The clerks are very helpful, and know what to add to the paint for different conditions.</p>
<p>Check and see if the paint store offers a AAA discount–Dunn Edwards does, so others might as well. And I think some Entertainment Books have coupons…</p>
<p>Hmm, I didn’t think about it, but Dunn Edwards might be a southwest brand. We use it inside and outside…it really holds up. And if you describe the enviroment they have great additives.</p>
<p>Well praise God. In today’s mail, I got a postcard from Sherwin Williams. Our local SW paint store is having a 40% off paint and stains. After paying for a wedding this summer and two fall tuition bills (lucky us - 2 are currently in college), our checking account echoes at us when we go looking for more money in it. </p>
<p>I’ve never heard of Dunn Edwards or Miller paints. Maybe they are both regional brands.</p>