Did they leave any touch-up paint anywhere?!

Faron

Unfortunately not :-(

Bad paint? No. They used the run-of-the-mill oil finish coat most readily available at the time. it probably started out as a gloss. It probably covered fairly well in one coat and it is now worn out by the weather.
The good thing is that as long as it's clean, dull & dry it makes a great primed surface for a GOOD QUALITY acrylic finish coat. i recommend Muralo exterior satin and 2 coats.

When a paint starts to "chalk" like that, it means the binder-resin is breaking-down....badly!

This happens more quickly with cheaper paints, Oil OR Latex. It'll occur first on the S & W sides due mainly to the sun slooooowwly destroying the paints' binder. After 11 years though, ANY paint/paint-job is at or beyond its natural limit.

Remedy?
* A good washing and light scrubbing of the failing areas.
* Chalked areas are an "unsound substrate", and HAVE to be removed.
* Drying time???? Get a moisture-tester....it's the ONLY way to be dead sure. Aim for ~~ 12%.
* For trim areas, I'd grab an OIL primer here.
* When ready to paint, choose the highest quality Exterior Latex you can afford, in AT LEAST a Satin-sheen. Ideally Semi-Gloss, maybe even Gloss.
* If any areas are roughed-up from scraping, etc., use good exterior capable filler. A VERY good one is M-H Ready-Patch. I've seen it at Menards.
* Feather-sand dried filler, remove all dust, then the Oil primer.

Faron

Faron, you make it sound like you are recommending a gloss latex here as if that is the preferred and best choice. I can't even think of an application where gloss is appropriate anymore, especially a latex gloss. Perhaps a nice gloss front door, but that's about it. Remember most gloss latex paints are a beast to apply and have poor coverage. I think semi gloss is enough, but I'm a huge satin guy. Shine makes trim look bad, especially trim that has peeled and been painted 20 times over the years. It would be a different story if you were gaining a ton of durability by going from semi gloss to gloss, but in the year 2012, I think that gain is very small. It's not like if you are painting your trim with gloss, it will last years longer than if you painted it with semi gloss or satin.

Also, despite what "jump" says above, you cannot just paint over oil with latex without proper prep work. I agree with paintguy about the gloss finish, don't need or want it.

Paintguy & Chrisn-

Yeah, I hear ya!!
* I DID say..."MAYBE" even a Gloss...;-)
* From a "Technical ONLY" standpoint though, the glossier-the-better. That's exactly why those stunning FPE doors, and some trims, are always FULL-ON GLOSS.
* Yes, the shinier a piece is, the worse it'll look with flaws! I was coming from the "durability-for-this-specific-purpose-only" standpoint. And yes...the incremental gains are small!
* You guys are absolutely correct by stating older/beat-up trim would look bad in gloss or S/G!!
* There's obviously NOTHING wrong with Exterior Satin.

Faron

"From a "Technical ONLY" standpoint though, the glossier-the-better. That's exactly why those stunning FPE doors, and some trims, are always FULL-ON GLOSS.". Actually, one has nothing to do with the other. Everything else being equal, a full gloss oil will still break down just as fast as a satin and an oil will always lose sheen faster than a latex of similar quality. From satin to gloss, it's a function of personal preference, not durability.

I'll just agree to disagree with the esteemed PG1, but our differences are mainly incremental ones IMO!

Identical paint-type-to-paint-type....Glosses have a slightly tighter/smoother/harder resin-film than a Satin. That's why they show glossier in the first place!

For MY preferences though, on a hard-wearing surface like a DOOR, I'm using a GLOSS.
There's an obvious reason why CAR paints/clearcoats are Glossy....

Faron