Dark green paint, southern exposure, quality paint -- please help

15 years ago

The details:

100+-year-old Clapboard Victorian cottage, no gingerbread

We live in Atlanta and the back of the house has full southern exposure with little shade all day. Eventually, some maples we planted will shade it, but not any time soon.

The work:

We are having everything sanded down, and the old paint is coming off easily. Power washing did not work, by the way, but the sanding is moving very rapidly

We have contracted for a prime coat and 2 color coats, all brushed on.

We have initially settled on Sherwin-Williams Roycroft Bronze Green or Billiard Green for the clapboards and some sort of wheat color for the trim.

Questions:

1. This is a small house, so we can afford to buy expensive paint. I want this job done right and I want it to last. I have read a lot of posts that rank SW Duration highest among widely available commercial paints. But tell me now Â do I need to search out one of the other less-available brands that people on this forum swear by, or will I be happy with SW Duration?

2. "Everyone" says to use flat on the clapboards and satin on the trim. We want to use satin on the clapboards and gloss on the trim. Is this just a bad idea? Do I need to worry about the glossy paint being applied competently, or does it take the same skill level as satin paint? (This is an issue with finishing furniture, since glossy coats take more skill.)

3. I am very concerned about the dark green color fading in that southern exposure. Is this a valid concern? Are the greens I picked good ones for our type of job?

4. Is it too hot and humid to paint right now (June 2008)?

5. What am I missing?

Any help is appreciated.

John

Atlanta, Georgia

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Comments (3)

Faron79
15 years ago
Hi Atlanta-John!
Greetings from Fargo, ND!!

I agree...use Satin on the main body!!!
Flats tend to hold dirt more...simple as that.

Some may grumble that "no one uses Satin...blah-blah...",
BUT they don't have to clean YOUR house!
I could give a rat's A$$ if Flat is "more appropriate" to some painters, etc.

A sheened paint, like an Exterior Eggshell or Satin, will stay cleaner, and wash-up nicer.
I would use exactly your sheen-choices in a heartbeat.

FADING:
ALL artificially created colorants; like Yellows, Greens, Magentas, & Blues; WILL fade.
The question is...how fast?
* It's mainly a question of paint/colorant quality.
* You shouldn't have any problems with Duration IF...they actually use that paint-line.
* The substrate HAS to be dry before priming.
* I'd use a GRAY primer under TWO coats of the Duration Green Satin.
* Paint shouldn't be applied in temps over 90.
* It'll dry too fast before it has time to bond with the primer. The actual "working-time" of a top-line paint like that is SECONDS/maybe a MINUTE...if it's too hot outside.
It'll just lead to premature film-failure.

I work at a C2 retailer...
* The people who've used C2's Exterior just LOVE it!
* Avg retail is low-to-mid $40's/gal.
* Percent Volume Solids avg's. ~ 40%.
* Expensive colorants too! A Qt. of the High-strength Yellow equals a dinner-for-two $$...
* High-quality binders & colorants are the key to any paints success (along with proper prep & priming). Some are just better than others...!

Faron
northwoodsgal
6 years ago
any chance you have a photo of the Roycroft Bronze Green with wheat trim. We are thinking of using the same with dark red brick, but the color seems really dark. How do you like it?
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PRO
Paint sales at Home Depot
6 years ago
Be wary of any green color that is made by combining blue and bright yellow, rather than a green colorant. Yellows are notorious for fading, shortly leaving the green looking blue as the yellow fades.