As the spring enters the Memorial Day weekend many homeowners begin to look toward painting the exterior of the home. The amount of sunny days begins to string together as the wetness from the rainy days of April and early May begins to disappear. But this is when the damage from winter begins to appear and you see the work required, especially if your whole home is wood.

There are many schools of thought on painting the outside of a home. Many painters prefer a solid oil stain while others would rather paint with either a latex or oil-based paint. In either case there are also those who use sprayers and those who prefer a brush or roller. Unless you are starting with a fine, new wood like cedar, a transparent stain would not be in the plans. It would highlight rather than cover up and incosistencies in the surface

Solid Stain

Solid stains have an appearance like paint, and are brushed on in much the same way, but they penetrate the surface of the wood rather than form a film. Also called "heavy-bodied stains," solid stains are opaque finishes which, like paint, can come in a wide range of "stains" or colors and they have more pigment in them that the semi-transparent kind. As a result solid stains tend to mimic paint as they form a film much like paint and, like paint, peel loose in time. There are also latex- based solid color stains which, like latex paint, produces a breathable film and tend not to peel as much.

Solid stains can be used on either smooth or lightly textured surfaces with brushes, pads, a spray-gun or roller. Since they go on much like paint it seems at times that your are using real paint. However, unlike paint, lap marks may form with a solid color stain as it tends to dry faster, especially the latex-based stains, but you can avoid this by applying stain to only a small number of boards at once while keeping a wet edge. This is easily achieved on clapboard as you are doing basically one board at a time. But working in the shade is the best for any paint job because the drying rate is slower and it gives the paint a chance to cure all the way through desirable because the drying rate is slower.

As for coverage, 1 gallon of solid stain will usually cover between 225 and 400 square feet of smooth wood and from 160-200 square feet of rough surface. Rough surfaces should be done twice but then the rough grain will hold the stain longer.

Oil- Base Paint

For years oil-base paint was the only method of painting both inside and out of the home, and in the 1960's and early 1970's it had 70% of the market. But the paint had a lead oxide composition which made it a heavy coat and later studies ahowed it was harmful to the painter and thee home resident. So if you are painting over lead-base paint be sure to use a respirator, especially when sanding as the lead dust is toxic. After 1960 paint stopped using the lead base and now the oil-base paints use an alkyd resin thinned with mineral spirits.

Despite being free from lead, oil-base paints off-gas volatile organic compounds and require mineral spirits for cleanup, which also has toxic fumes and is hard on your skin. The plus with oil-base is that it is hard and wears better on moldings and anywhere there is scuffing or knocking.

One advantage of using oil-based paint over latex is that it adheres to dirtier, more-weathered and shiner surfaces than latex paint. An advantage oil has over latex is that it can be applied at a lower temperature than 50-degree Fahrenheit, the minimum which latex should be put on, but oil-based paint will not dry in high humidity areas and can remain tacky for days and even weeks. Oil-based paints are dry on the surface in 6 to 8 hours but need a full 24 before a second coat. For the most part, few painting professionals use oil-base paint as a staple paint process anymore.

Latex-Based Paints

The base carrier in latex paints is plain water with glycol as a fusing compound. This keeps the paint pigments and the binders from settling to the bottom of the can until the paint is applied. Binders are the compounds which remain on the painted surface after drying. In latex paints the binders include include acrylic resins, polyvinyl acetate, and styrene butadiene. For quality, painters go with 100% acrylic but vinyl acrylics and polyvinyl acetates are good as well.

Pigment extenders are the cmpounds which give latex paint the gloss and allow the surfaces to be scrubbed while resisting chalking. Because latex is easy to clean up and emits less odor it is the favorite of both professionals and amateurs alike. Mistakes can also be easily wiped away with a wet cloth. In addition, latex paint is less prone to fading or yellowing than the oil-based pigments so the color intensity lasts longer.

Another consideration is drying time because even after oil-based paint is dry to the touch the paint is not dry all the way through. In warm conditions latex paint is dry on the surface in minutes and can be repainted in around 4 hours. However, latex paint remains flexible and because it is not as sensitive to lime and alkali compounds as oil-based coatings latex paint can be used on cement and plaster.

Latex paint is also easier to use with a brush or roller. The stickiness of oil-based paints means it must be worked into the surface which requires more labor. However, when painting over an old surface an oil primer can be sued to prepare the surface and then a latex paint used over top. But latex will not stick long to an oil finish.