Barn Paint

[RamTruckMan]

Any recommendations for good paint to cover 100 year old barn that has never been painted. I painted roof last year with elastomeric roof coat. It went on nice and seems durable. Time will be the test.

 

[grainger12002]

I am listening, I too am painting an oldie this year

 

[BHD]

In the past (5 to 7 years ago) I have used Sherwin Williams oil base barn paint it was sold in 5 gallon cans, (I do not know what they have now, paint is changing daily) I painted a guys place, I think we used about 65 gallons of pain to paint his place, a number of barns, and some other out buildings and years earlier did the same for another guy, using the same paint and both were happy,

I would suggest to power wash and try to wash buildings and try to wash the oxidized wood off the surface, most of the old paint I see pealing, off of the old buildings is not the paint but the wood releasing under the paint, in a oxidized layer,

it will most likely take three full coats, the oil base first coat, and most likely the second coat, will penetrate into the wood helping seal the surface, and the oxidized fibers on the surface of the wood,

Using a latex paint is more like putting a plastic coat over the woods surface, usually very little penetration into the wood, and in a few years the wood gives way and under the paint is my experience, and thus pealing paint,

one may consider a oil based stain as well as there thinner and penetrate in the wood, as well,

I know I am Old school here, but I have not been impressed with a lot of the new products, they seem to work fine on new unweather products, but on old and weathered the conditions are different,

even a first coat of boiled linseed oil to help penetrate and seal the surface of the old weathered wood.

Talking to the paint people of a real paint store may have some ideas,

 

[arnoldziffel]

I used a tinted oil base primer followed by a coat of latex.

Still looks good after 7 years.

 

[oosik]

Thirty two years ago I tore down one of the original buildings on this old homestead - my property. The building was erected in 1907 and most of the exterior boards (1x12 pine) were in pretty good shape. So I used them again on one of my outbuilding I was building. I painted them with Sherwin-Williams barn paint. It was barn red and lead based. I'm sure you can't get lead based paint any more. Those 110 year old boards on my outbuilding are still very red and in excellent condition. No sanding, no priming - just slap that thick red paint on those old dry boards.

Now, I think your best bet is probably some exterior oil based paint or primer/paint. I've tried latex and if its out of the sun it will probably do OK. The south side of the building, in the sun, will have the latex paint turn chalky in 4-6 years. Ace Hardware makes some paint they call barn paint that supposed to be as durable as good old lead based paint.

What you do to the outside of the old barn is directly related to - how easy is it to paint, how often do you want to repaint and how much are you willing to spend.

 

[BeezFun]

Consumer reports has been testing paint for years, so they have lots of data. Right now they rate Home Depot's Behr as being the hands down winner for exterior. It's about half the price of Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore and does slightly better in each of the categories. The other paints they rate high are Glidden and Ace. Walmart (which is Glidden) falls a bit lower in performance but also cheaper than everyone in price.

 

[PeterK]

I use Sherwin Woodscapes stain on my barn. It's 1x12 board and batten and so far is holding nicely since 1997. Good thing about stain is that you can re-stain as required without any prep, and it can easily be sprayed then brushed or rolled over. Rollers work great on flat surfaces.

I had a bad experience with Behr years ago and have not returned. Problem was their "high-end" paint took 3 coats to cover.

if you sign-up with S-W paint, they send discount coupon to your email. Worth it.

 

[EddieWalker]

Consumer reports has been testing paint for years, so they have lots of data. Right now they rate Home Depot's Behr as being the hands down winner for exterior. It's about half the price of Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore and does slightly better in each of the categories. The other paints they rate high are Glidden and Ace. Walmart (which is Glidden) falls a bit lower in performance but also cheaper than everyone in price.

I'm a General Contractor and I do a fair amount of painting. Behr used to be a pretty good quality paint, but I wouldn't put it at the top of any list anymore. They either bought out Kilz or Kilz took them over and now their paint is as bad as Kilz is as a primer. Right on down there with Glidden and the Ace brand stuff, which I believe is Benjamin Moore.

Sherwin Williams is as good as you will find, but it's also at the top of the price range. Even with my contractor discount, I only go there if that's what's the client specifies, or it's one of those jobs that needs the very best. Otherwise, my go to paint is Valspar at Lowes. Signature for indoors and Reserve for exterior.

Since the building has never been painted, you should brush it clean with a good quality house wash. I prefer Jomax, but most of them are pretty good and will get the job done. You want to get the dirt off the wood so the primer can soak into it. NEVER pressure wash a building. You force water into areas that there shouldn't be water, and then it will take months for it to dry out. This will cause mold to grow and attract bugs. It will cause the paint to fail and it will remove caulking from areas meant to keep out rain water.

Zinsser makes the very best primer. There are several levels to choose from. Their BIN oil based primer is as good as it gets, but it's very watery and miserable to apply with a brush or roller. It sprays great!!!!! I use the water based 123 for most everything unless I'm painting with oil based paint. Then it's the BIN. Spend the money and take the time to use a quality primer. It is more important then the paint!!!! And just to make sure you understand, there is no such thing as paint mixed with primer, that is a sales gimmick for their better quality paints. Nothing replaces primer. Sherwin Williams also makes some great primers specific to what you are painting. They have one for raw wood this works great. If you go to Sherwin Williams, ask them for their advice and listen to them. Of all the sources for paint, they are the most knowledgeable and trained. I like Lowes, but you will never find anybody with any real world experience or knowledge about how their products work on a variety of condition. They just know what the label says and are there to sell you paint.

Either latex or oil will do you fine for the finish. Oil is a paint to apply, but it is harder and stronger then latex. It might crack on you before latex does due to the elastic nature of latex. If it was mine, I'd go with Zinsser 123 primer and Valspar latex paint. In fact, that's what I use all the time for my own projects.

Eddie

 

[BHD]

MY two cents on power washing, as I suggested it,

I will not power wash a house or building that has enclosed walls, out buildings that are single walled boards I see no problem with, and air and drying can take place from both sides,
(my guess is if the building is 100 years old and never been painted I would guess it is a single wall building, not enclosed walls with insulation and plaster or other inside), and I would guess caulk has not been used much if ever at all, and IMO if one blows the caulk out with a power washer it needed to come out and be replaced any way, (yes I can put a 0 degree nozzle on a power washer and drill a hole in the lumber, that is not what I mean, but in the process of a quick washing and common sense use of the tool, if it is that loose most likely it needs to have some attention),

also I live in an are a where the humidity most of the summer is about 10% so things dry out fast, but I will usually give the building a week at least and longer if possible,

most of the time paint is pushed off by moisture coming through the walls so it needs to be dry,

 

[sandcreekfarm]

I recommend BEHR Exterior , it's the best exterior paint for damaged surfaces