Best Quality Exterior Paints for S. Florida Area?

I have been led to understand that Coronado Paint Company has test labs in South Florida and has worked to acheive the qualities you need and desire.

http://www.coronadopaint.com/

They are based in Edgewater, FL

I like Behr Ultra (Home Depot). I'm using it now to paint my house in Houston.

I've had very good success with Behr also (Sacramento CA). Good coverage. I did one house (sold 1983 before Behr was a Home Depot Brand) with Behr and it is still in beautiful condition. See it all the time. Still use Behr for all of my painting projects.

Surface prep is the key to painting though no matter where you are. The brand is much less important than GOOD PREPARATION WORK. It's the tough part, any paint will do if you just smear it on, Of course you may need to smear it on again in a year or two. Spend EXTRA time on PREP it's well worth the effort.

Yeah - I pressured washed the garage - in some places (where it gets the afternoon sun) paint came off in sheets. I hand scraped it after it dried to get everything the power wash had loosened. I'll prime it and then paint. I'm doing the extra work up front in hopes of not having to do it again for a long time.

I really really really hate painting houses.

I like Behr Ultra (Home Depot). I'm using it now to paint my house in Houston.

I agree entirely.

But I'll also give a shout out to Coronado Paints. They make a primer called Grip 'n' Seal that's tha bomb. Use it to cover any glossy surface before painting - shiny paint, brick, formica even. If you current surface is really bad, I recommend it.

My son is a professional painter in Cape Coral, FL just about 125 miles west of Lake Worth. His company uses Scott's paints exterior paint. I am not sure why it works so well here in S. FL (maybe there is a zinc additive that discourages mold and mildew and something that stands up to the humidity) but it does well.

Of course there's always the venerable "Flex-Bon" made in Florida for Florida Houses. If you have never heard the Jamaican accent flavored radio commercial, then you probably don't listen to the radio at all: It's Flex-Bon, mon!

There are other paints available that will do the job that are available from Lowes and Home Depot and other vendors which consumers often use, but you did ask about quality paints though.

As several have said preparation is the key. One key prep point is to make sure the slatted siding breathes. Oft times people seal the siding tight. Where high humidity is a factor, shims placed under the slats will allow the paint to remain intact by allowing the moisture to vent to the atmosphere and not through the paint. For other types of siding...I am not sure where the venting may take place..perhaps the round slotted inserts, where one uses a hole saw, pushes in the vent, then paints the vent along with the siding. Any comments on this type of fix? I would like to know if it is indeed being used or not in Florida or other states with similiar weather.

Hi all,

Thanks for the information. I went to Lowes and they have a paint called DuraMax. It's expensive and comes with only 1 gallon size. They boasting that it does not need primer and only needed 1 coat and mildew, fungi, chalking, moisture resistance. Does anyone has any experiences or information about this paint?

Thanks all for the information and comment,

That sounds like the description of Behr's Ultra (except Behr comes in 5 gallon buckets, too). I think that's just the latest thing in paints - no primer, one coat, blah blah blah.

I've looked around the interweb a bit and opinions vary all over the place. My advice is to buy the best paint grade available from whichever manufacturer you choose, power wash (let dry a week) and scrape your house, and use a primer to cover any bare wood, or shiny surfaces. Don't forget to caulk. Your prep work and application are probably more important than the brand of paint you buy.

Supposedly the paint dealer can add a mildew resistant agent specific to your location, although I've never asked for it.

In response to: "Don't forget to caulk". Moisture is going to go somewhere! If it can't go around the siding...it will go through and eventually degrade the paint. The siding does not have to be tight or all caulked up. Better to have room for air movement so the moisture does not get trapped under the paint and eventually work it's way out.

I was referring to air gaps around windows, etc, not the interfaces between pieces of siding.

I would highly recommend using exterior products from the Richard's paint mfg. Co. For the past 60 years, they have been manufacturing/ formulating their coatings for the harsh Florida climate. If you don't want your paint to mildew, fade and to last decades I would use either their Eternity High Performance Lifetime Coating or Their Signature Series 100% Acrylic coating!

http://richardspaint.com/