10 year paint

I have had some good experience with exterior wood paint stated on the tin as 10 year life. Although, I haven't really tried other paints to know they don't last as long. Are the 10 years paints really better? With them now costing a bomb, I am looking at trade paints. But I don't really want the extra maintenance if trade paint won't last as long.

Any paint experts can offer a clue? Thanks.

Dulux weathershield is very good.

Sadolin Superdec is a water-based one which also has good advantages.

Which 10 year paint are you referring to?

Part of the secret of long lasting outside paint is in the preparation - remove all loose paint, a good sand all over, sealing all holes and cracks, priming, undercoat, topcoat.

The one I used was the International 10 year gloss white paint. I used International primer and sealer without particularly great preparation. In areas where the paint wasn't subjected very strong water attack, the paint remained essentially perfect for may be 10 years or more.

I don't mind the preparation. If done well, can leyland trade paint match these 10 year paints? B&Q's paint mixing is stated to be 15 years. Are they even serious?

The oil based Dulux Trade Weathershield gloss is supposed to provide 8 years of protection. Where-as the waterbased version is 6 years.

Strangely the retail Dulux Weathershield oil based says 10 years and the retail waterbased 6 years.

Frankly, I do not believe that their retail paints are superior to the trade version and suspect that they use different organisations with different testing methodologies.

Personally I don't pay much attention to the life expectancy listed on the tins. When, for example, painting a window, the key failure points are where the styles and rails meet. If you don't use the right fillers they may develop cracks which will allow water ingress, and subsequently result in the paint de-laminating at those points.

As a professional decorator who works primarily on Victorian houses, I often find myself sanding through numerous coats of paint on sliding sash windows, back to when they were first painted. I do from time to time, come across paint work where the last coat is flaking even though the paint underneath is sound. I work on the assumption the last time it was painted, the painter didn't bother providing a sufficient key, or possibly used an inferior paint. Exterior paints have additives that allow the molecules to vibrate as they absorb the energy from UV light, additionally they have fungicides in levels higher than found in interior paints. In theory, they are more flexible and some claim to be micro porous (ie allowing moisture out but not in, I have long wondered if that is just marketing hyperbole).

I opt for the oil Dulux Trade Weathershield paints because they have been consistently reliable and I know their quirks. I do not believe that the current version is superior to the pre 2010 version though. In 2010 an EU VOC directive forced manufacturers to reduce the solvent content of their paints. Initially paints were awful, they have improved since though.

From memory DT Weathershield used to be rated for 10 years prior to the VOC compliant version. I may be mistaken though.

What prompted my question was that the original builder paint was cr*p. It dried, cracked, and flaked. In contrast, the International gloss that I used remained supple. I presume the builder used trade paint. There must be many grades of trade paints. Since nobody is mentioning the leyland trade paint, perhaps that's a lower grade?

I got lucky and managed to dig up the original paint I used. It preserved itself with a skin of paint at the top of the can. What's underneath still looks good after shaking. The solvent has tree sap appearance. I have now transferred it to a 2L plastic cola bottle for better preservation compared to a rusty metal can.

My paint job of many, many years ago on top of the cracked builder paint remained good and gave it an interesting character. I can honestly say I like the 10 year paints, and think there is some truth to the claim.

I use Leyland Trade emulsion from time to time but only their emulsion and only over new lining paper. I would not want to use their paints to cover previously painted surfaces. I have used their oil eggshell and i had to apply an extra coat (compared to DT). the client saved £15 on materials and spent an extra £180 in labour...

Apropos the flaked paint, it may just have been down to poor surface preparation rather than the paint.

The builder paint was definitely bad because it dried to a crispy chalk. This didn't happen to the 10 year paint, it still has a "wet" shine to it after many years.

He may have used a waterbased paint, I don't know.

I used Dulux Trade Weathershield (oil) for my soffits and fascias when we moved into our house 4 years ago; it still looks the same. Preparation is everything.

Having examined my previous paint job on windows, I have to say there is a bit more than just preparation. You absolutely have to seal every water invasion route. Where I previously sealed by accident, the paint did not fail. Even on the same piece of wood, the properly sealed bit remained rock solid, while the remainder rotted. As part of my damage repair, I will have an additional sealing step after painting. Just ordinary silicone sealant would work. There are claims ultra-violet would damage silicone. I saw no evidence of that from the silicone I used. It did suffer from black mould impregnation in corners. Nevertheless the silicone was not damaged. The unsightliness could be covered up by white primer.