Paint finish

[plasticpigeon]

Hello People

I need to paint a window I have made and am going to buy the paint to do the rest of the house. I was wondering if anyone had any opinions about whether gloss or eggshell would be better for the outside woodwork. I get the impression that old paint went dull pretty quickly so eggshell might be more authentic. I know linseed oil paint is another option but I am thinking that it dries very slowly and there isn't such a range of colours so I'm happy to use modern oil based paint. Does anyone have any opinions?

 

[jocelyn plummer]

If you use linseed it is better to go back to bare wood for it to be really effective. Obviously it's great for new woodwork. Farrow and Ball do exterior paint products as indeed do all the companys, although I have to say that I find their glosses rather too oily. It's all down to the budget I suppose!

 

[tobydog]

The eggshell on our new extension looks far better than the gloss on the existing house. We used F&B French Grey alongside oak cladding which looks superb and I would be crying by now if we had gone gloss.

 

[AMc]

I used this stuff, Modern Oljefärg and it's oil based predecessor Oljefärg on all my exterior wood work (there's a lot).
It has a low sheen closer to eggshell than oil gloss, went on well and covered nicely. If you don't want to go down the linseed route it might be worth considering.
It looks expensive but on balance I've spent more time painting and repainting cheap gloss in the past, so I considered it value for money.

http://www.paint-paper.co.uk/paint/alcro/outdoor-painting/woodwork/cat_716.html

 

[plasticpigeon]

Thanks all, I was drawn towards less shiny finishes too, they look more adult somehow. I'm glad to have that confirmed as I know they are less commonplace than glossy finishes.

 

[Lime]

My experience with linseed oil paint is that it is so superior to any other paint I will use no other on exterior wood.

 

[worms]

My experience with linseed oil paint is that it is so superior to any other paint I will use no other on exterior wood.

Agreed!

 

[Keith Bowman]

My experience with linseed oil paint is that it is so superior to any other paint I will use no other on exterior wood.

Rather like the tramp writing to Pears "I first used your soap twenty years ago and since then I have used no other" (Not sure if it was a Pears ad or a Punch cartoon.)

 

[biffvernon]

My experience with linseed oil paint is that it is so superior to any other paint I will use no other on exterior wood.

Agreed!

Agreed, also.

 

[biffvernon]

My experience with linseed oil paint is that it is so superior to any other paint I will use no other on exterior wood.

Rather like the tramp writing to Pears "I first used your soap twenty years ago and since then I have used no other" (Not sure if it was a Pears ad or a Punch cartoon.)

You know, not using any paint at all is probably better than painting with a modern paint with low vapour-permeability. With no paint, the wood dries out when it stops raining. Put an impermeable coating on and the moisture is trapped inside.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Just a quick question. How permeable is linseed oil paint? Obviously less permeable than no paint at all but more permeable than plastic paint???? What is the optimum permeability?? I always thought that linseed oil paint's advantage was that it lasted longer and was less brittle so didn't crack thus letting in water.

 

[biffvernon]

All paint cracks and lets in water eventually - linseed oil paint is much more vapour permeable, even much more than so called 'breathable' paints, so lets the water out again. It lasts much longer as it bonds more tightly with wood. Instead of peeling off it slowly erodes from the outside but then can be overpainted without stripping.