SW Duration paint

For you paint experts out there...what do you think about using SW Duration paint on old houses? Is it 100% acrylic?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nick on January 21, 2012 at 12:23pm

Kathy,

I own a painting and restoration company. Duration is my go-to exterior paint. I usually spot prime with a slow-oil primer and double top coat with Duration with a brush. Duration is supposed to be self-priming, but you can never be too careful.

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Permalink Reply by Bill Hendrickson on January 21, 2012 at 1:48pm

We are getting ready to paint our house and we are using the SW Duration. Came highly recommended from several painters we talked to.

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Permalink Reply by Nick on January 21, 2012 at 4:44pm

SW Duration is tougher to brush than other 100% Acrylics, but its a great coating--and comes with a manufacterer's lifetime warranty.

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Permalink Reply by John Leeke on January 22, 2012 at 12:14pm

Nick:

In the past few years I have examined three buildings painted with Sherwin Williams Duration that had a particular problem. The paint film was not at all flexible, in fact, it was very hard and brittle. In all three cases the paint was just one to two years old. When the wood expands and shrinks due to changes in moisture content (which is normal), the Duration paint film cracks because it is not flexible enough to go with the movement of the wood.

In my experience and recollection, Duration paint and most other so-called "good quality" 100% acrylic waterborne paints, remained flexible for at least 8 to 12 years. If a chip of paint peeled off I could bend the chip into a "U" profile and flatten it out again because it was flexible.

In these three cases a chip of paint simply crumbles into pieces with any attempt to bend them. The new paint film could only be described as hard and brittle, not as flexible. The cases are located in a wide variety of places and situations: Maine woods, 15 year old house; Austin, Texas, middle of the city, 90 year old garage; Portland, OR, 100 year old house in a city neighborhood near the river.

What is your experience with the flexibility of Sherwin Williams Duration paint after one to two years?

Is the type of acrylic resin now used as binder in paint fundamentally different than what was used 5 and 10 years ago?

John

www.HistoricHomeWorks.com

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Permalink Reply by Bill Hendrickson on January 22, 2012 at 2:41pm

Gosh! Now what?

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Permalink Reply by Nick on January 23, 2012 at 7:05am

John,

My experience with Duration has been dissimilar to yours. I believe that Duration came on about 10 years ago, and was the 'first' major product in its class. It has gone through changes. In all my dealings with the coating, it has been flexible and remainwed flexible. I've noticed that the cheaper the paint, the more brittle and chalky it is. Even in a deffective can of Duration, it should not be brittle. However, Duration is not an elastomeric and for the most part, I don't like the idea of a truly 'flexible or rubbery' paint. As we all know, even the best paint job with need to be addressed within the next 10 years, if only in part. An elastomeric coating is very difficult to remove in preperation for the new paint job. Its always good to get opinions, especially when Duration is approaching $60-$70 per gallon. When I return from work, I'm going to check out your essay linked below.

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Permalink Reply by John Leeke on January 23, 2012 at 10:58am

Nick, thanks. That's exactly what I was looking for, the experience of someone like you who works with Duration routinely.

I know (or at least think I know) the differences between these basic types of paint:

-- oil-based alkyd resin house paint, which I think of as not flexible, even right after application

-- waterborne 100% acrylic house paint, which remains somewhat flexible for years after application

-- waterborne elastomeric coatings, which are extremely flexible and rubbery

Can you name some specific products, from your own experience, that fit into each of these three categories?

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Permalink Reply by Nick on January 23, 2012 at 5:54pm

The basic types of coating are:

Water-based: Latex or acrylic or both, flexible

Oil-based: Oil (think linseed oil) or alkyd (newer, man-made resins)

Hybrids: Alkyd/acrylic mix (very new, found in some SW and BM trim enamels)

Alcohol: Shellac or white shellac (know as Zinsser BIN)

Every paint manufacturer has good products for specific uses. If a painter tells you that he only uses SW, he's misssing out on a lot of great coatings. For exterior painting I prime with long oil primer and double topcoat with Duration or Hirschfield's Platinum Ceramic. Almost every manufacterer now has a version of Duration--ask a rep and they'll be happy to tell you. For Exterior staining I like Cabot oil products, whether semi-transparent or solid. If there's bare wood on the exterior of a home or structure, I usually like oil primer or stain to be the first thing that comes in contact with the wood. For interior paint, I like many. SW Cashmere, Promar 200 zero VOC (production painting), Harmony. Interior Duration acts too much like Behr or other 'home owner' products. The finsih is too thick and doesn't level very well. Ace Hardwares Royal line is by far the most under priced interior paint available. It creates a beautifully uniform and professional finish in its flat and eggshell forms. They manufacter their own paints, and are actually larger than many other well known manufacturers. For trim enamel I like BM Satim Impervo (oil and watebourne), SW Pro Classics (oil and water) and Hirschfield's Endura oil. There are so many great professional products out there. When at a SW for instance, ask the store manager what most of their contractors use. Then ask what their best or highest-end contractors use. What is sold the most is rarely the best coating.

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Permalink Reply by Phil on January 22, 2012 at 7:15pm

@John, I have noticed a variety of paint changes over the years to paints that have the same name. The most notable was some Valspar latex paint that I was using on an exterior project. One year it was quite thin, and then the next year the same paint and same color was at least twice as thick. I took it back to complain that they must have given me a bum can, and they said that it had been reformulated. So that Duration might have been redone would not surprise me.

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Permalink Reply by Kathy Keen on January 22, 2012 at 10:22pm

I posted this question about Duration paint over a year ago, but I really appreciate everybody's input now. I plan to paint the exterior of my house the end of summer 2012, so the information is timely. What do you think of California paint?