-
I first used Superdec on the balusters and balustrade on our tiny patio, replacing the tired old stain that had gone on before. It was a pleasure to use and is still holding up well three years later. It’s porous and degrades gracefully instead of flaking off. I have used it a few times since, including in black for the neighbour’s front door. The black needed three coats but the white has excellent coverage. I used it at the end of last summer to afford a bit of winter protection to our front window frame where the previous paint had been falling off in sheets before they get repaired and repainted professionally this year.
-
I probably would have used it more but the supplier I generally use before online ordering became a thing didn't carry it and if he ordered it in for me it was expensive. It is odd how some decorators swear by it and others don't like it at all.
There's a forum called Painters Pit Stop where paint systems get a lot of thorough discussion based on real world use. Benjamin Moore and Tikkurila were quite popular on there last time I was looking.
Allcoat has been working for me because the drying times mean I can get a few coats on exterior work in one visit to the site. It's less important if you're painting at home or painting a whole exterior but when it's one window and a site visit is a round trip in London traffic it makes a big difference. Plus the durability is fine, at least it is in the white gloss. It always looks a bit thin until it fully cures.
Zinsser All Coat has been my go to in exterior paint for around 5 years. I've not seen any failures in white gloss but I painted a colour in matt a couple of years ago and it's not lasted anywhere near as well as I would have hoped. There are circumstances like dampish conditions and the hardwood probably doesn't like being painted but that's been my take on it so far.
I do still use Cover Stain as a primer on stripped pine, it's not moisture vapour permeable but it does resist the stain coming through. A lot of problems with doors and patches of paint bubbling are caused by knots or resin. An IR stripper will boil the resin out of the wood then you can scrape it off but it might be worth using a shellac knotting afterwards.
These days I strip pretty much anything exterior because it's easy with the cobra speedheater, but also because I'm usually only doing the job if it's in a bad way but can't be replaced.
I wouldn't worry about the short drying time with Allcoat but I'm inclined not to rely on it's self priming qualities. I usually go with Cover stain, 123, 2xcoats of Allcoat. I have several jobs within a stones throw of my house dating back 5 years and thy are all looking like new. Front doors can be a bit more tricky, any matt paint in a dark colour will heat up considerably more than white gloss. Most exterior paints are rated a couple of years more durable in white gloss than they are in any other combination.
I've only used sadolin products once, some people love them but I always used Dulux weathershield and have had good results with it until they changed to the waterbased.