Sherwin William Duration Exterior Paint or Solid Stain? HELP!

14 years ago

Sherwin Williams says the solid stain has a 7 year guarantee but that Duration exterior paint has a lifetime guarantee.

The guy at the SW store says if he were painting his house he would use Duration.

Our GC says if it were his house he would use solid stain. We're very confused! : )

The house is big and this is for wood siding on the mainly south facing side if that makes any difference?

I am so afraid of making a mistake. The house is big so this is a one shot thing. We won't be able to redo. The paint/ stain alone is expensive! The Duration is running us approx $200 more than the stain and I have paid for Duration during the sale but can change it if we need to before Friday.

Help?!

Featured Answer

paintguy22

14 years ago

Yea it depends on the look you want. The reason I asked about the type of wood is that around here we have a whole lot of rough sewn cedar homes which really should be stained. The paint will have a shine and the stain will not. Paint will peel and stain will be more resistant to peeling. Paint will be easier to clean of course, but I've always noticed that it's not very often that you are cleaning your siding. Painting your house with Duration will certainly cost more than if you stained it. Consider all these options and go from there.

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Comments (8)

paintguy22
14 years ago
What kind of wood siding is it?
hobokenkitchen
Original Author
14 years ago
Ummmmm, I am embarrassed to say that I don't know. I don't think it's anything fancy. The home inspection report just says 'wood siding'.

Here is a pic if that helps at all. I only have pics from a distance right now.... I did take one slightly closer which happens to show some of the siding. Can you tell from this, or not really?

The color currently on the siding is a solid stain. Not sure if that makes a difference?
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Jumpilotmdm
14 years ago
The old coat of solid stain that has weathered makes a good prime coat if it's clean, dull & dry and is a sound coat, meaning not peeling or compromised in some other way.
Duration is a house paint, whereas the other is a stain. The chief difference is the dry film thickness and sheen.
the thin dry film makes the stain follow the contours of the wood and can give you a more authentic or maybe even rustic look, depending on the wood. It will almost always be flat, with no shine at all.
The thicker coat will more fill in the grain of the wood and probably have an eggshell or higher shine, maybe even to a satin or semi-gloss. It most likely will not be available flat.
A thinner coat means shorter life, the trade-off reflected in the price.
A properly applied thicker coat of duration can be expected to last a good long while, but I wouldn't use anyone's "lifetime".
If the wood has roughness or character to it, that you want to exploit for a certain look, I'd put stain on it. If the wood is smooth, almost shiny the way it is, I'd use house paint.
hobokenkitchen
Original Author
14 years ago
So it sounds like you would lean towards solid stain?
paintguy22
14 years ago
If the wood is in great shape, then I would probably paint it...hard to tell from the pictures though.
hobokenkitchen
Original Author
14 years ago
The wood is not in great shape, in fact we have to replace some rotten sections and that's why we have to repaint/stain.

I think we'll just stain. Sounds like the safer option.
Laura Homeowner
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
We have a similar situation as it sounds like you had 9 years ago. We have a big home that was already stained a color we don't love and it is now time to stain or paint it. It is so expensive and I am afraid to make a costly mistake. What did you end up choosing (solid stain or paint and which brand) and how has it held up? Many thanks!