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My dad said 'paint is paint' when I asked about his old shed, but I'm not so sure.
He used the cheapest exterior latex he could find at the hardware store 15 years ago, and it's still holding up fine in our Michigan winters. I just spent $60 a gallon on a fancy 'self-priming' paint for my own shed after reading all the reviews. Now I'm wondering if the expensive stuff is really worth it for basic outdoor jobs, or if the old-timers have a point about not overthinking it. What's your rule for choosing paint on a budget project?
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the_susan10d ago
Honestly, that "we pay for the label" thing really hits home. I did the same as @jenny_sullivan97 mentioned-I used some old interior primer on a dry, covered part of my fence last summer because I had it lying around and didn't want to waste money. It's been a year and it still looks the same as the expensive exterior stuff I put on the other side. My grandpa always said the sun and rain are the real test, and if it's protected from those, you're probably fine with whatever you got. It makes you wonder how much of the paint aisle is just marketing fluff.
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jenny_sullivan9720d ago
Your neighbor's onto something with the deck stain. It makes me wonder how many other "wrong" products actually work fine if you're not too picky. Maybe that leftover porch paint would seal a fence, or an interior primer could work in a pinch for a dry, covered spot. Are we just paying for the right label sometimes?
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