What Type of Exterior Paint Finish Is Best for Your Woodstock Home?

Exterior paint contributes significantly to your property’s curb appeal. It can also protect it from different outdoor influences. Do you know what type of exterior paint finish is best for your home?

Green Summit Contracting specializes in exterior painting in Woodstock to make your home the most beautiful on the block. Here’s how we identify the best paints for an exterior paint job.

What’s in Your Paint?

Paint has four main components:

• Binders: Resins that form the paint film once the solvent evaporates
• Solvents: Liquids that suspend the pigments and binders, allowing for easy application on surfaces
• Pigments: Powdered minerals and other materials that form the paint’s hue (color) and opacity (transparency control)
• Additives: Chemical mixtures that control other aspects of the paint, including how long it takes to dry, how UV resistant it is, and more

You can expect all paints to have these components at different levels, expanding paint options for various exterior surfaces.

Three Main Paint Formulas You Can Use

The three most common paint formulas are oil-based, latex-based, and acrylic-based paints. Although other paints exist, they fit under the oil- or water-based categories.

Oil-based paints, often alkyd (having alcohol-based solvents ), tend to have strong finishes. They use synthetic resins or natural oils as binders. Use these only for outdoor painting projects because of their strong smells and high volatile organic compound (VOC) amounts.

Latex-based paints use a latex binder and water-based solvent with substantially fewer VOCs. While this solvent doesn’t stick well to metal or steel, latex paints dry quickly and can adapt to the expansion and contraction of outdoor surfaces as the seasons change — great for Georgia houses.

Acrylic paints contain a water-based formula, but they use acrylic resin instead of a latex binder. They sometimes crack in high-traffic areas and may require multiple coatings. Even so, they have the same expansion and contraction ability as other water-based paints with additional mold, mildew, and water resistance.

Types of Finishes and Outdoor Surfaces

What type of exterior paint finish is best for wood, and is it the same for concrete? Painting the exterior surfaces of your home requires you to consider what the paint needs to either protect or adapt to.

Experts often refer to types of paint sheen, another word for a paint finish. The different sheen conditions determine the best places to put the paint.

Flat and Matte

Flat and matte paint have mostly non-reflective finishes. 

Flat paints do not reflect light and have the most pores in their composition. While that makes them less durable, they also hide imperfections very well. Older homes with slight construction damage may benefit more from a flat finish.

Matte paint reflects light slightly, differentiating it from flat paint. However, a matte finish doesn’t have the glossy look of other finish types. This slightly increases paint durability while maintaining its ability to hide property imperfections, like those you might find on exterior siding.

Eggshell and Satin

An eggshell finish mimics its namesake, giving a slight, soft glow to a room without the sheen of gloss. It has become a more popular finish type for interior surfaces, mainly the living and dining rooms. Still, it has its uses in exterior areas, like covered porches, or semi-exterior areas, like sunrooms.

Satin finishes have more gloss than eggshell, though less than full or semi-gloss. Along with eggshell, it represents a happy medium between the durability of gloss finishes and the lack of shine of flat or matte finishes. When clients ask, “What type of exterior paint finish is best for concrete or wood siding?” we consider eggshell or satin finishes.

Semi-Gloss and Gloss

Semi-glossy and glossy finishes have the highest durability and work well in high-traffic areas. However, you shouldn’t use them on damaged or faulty parts of the property. The shine will draw attention to them.

Garage doors and windowsills may benefit from a gloss finish to attract attention while providing extra water protection and durability. They also resist scuff marks and other damage. A semi-gloss finish has less sheen but is a good choice for doors and trim work, drawing attention to them without shining too brightly.

Does Your Home Need New Exterior Paint?

Green Summit Contracting can find the best paint colors that go with red brick walls, concrete retaining walls, and other aspects of your property. Our designers always work with clients to produce a cohesive design for Georgia homes. If you want to know what type of exterior paint finish is best for your property, visit our contact page to schedule a consultation today.