House painting with life time warranted paint certainly offers some benefits that go beyond the capabilities of a 25 year paint. However, are you really getting the endurance you believe you are getting. I am frequently asked by my customers if I believe they should use a life time paint, and I usually respond by telling them that it depends on what their expectations are.



The first thing you need to consider is: what are your expectations from life time paint? Are your expectations realistic?

Life time warranties sell a lot of paint for the manufacturers. It's good business for them. It's certainly easy for you to fall for this seemingly incredible warranty, considering the cost of having your house painted these days, but are you getting what you believe you're getting.

There are 4 basic reasons you will need to repaint your home.

1. The paint you have now is faded and looks tired and dingy. 2. The caulked joints of your home have separated allowing water enter.

3. There are places where the paint is peeling.

4. You become tired of the old color and want to freshing up your home with new colors.

Let's take a closer look at these four reasons in relation to life time paint.

The truth is, life time warranted paints fade with exposure to sun light and weather, so if you are expecting it to look fresh 25 years from now, then you have been misled. First, you need to read the warranty of the life time paint. Excessive fading is covered by the warranty. Notice this does not mean "no fading". It reads the same as a lesser grade paint. Life time warranted paints lose their clarity in color over time. Now your back to the 1st reason you needed to paint to begin with. Yes, it will maintain its fresh look longer than a lesser grade paint, but not a lot longer.

The caulked joints that have separated on your home are not caused from an inferior paint. Caulked joints separate due to expansion and contraction of the materials that constitute your home. Life time warranted paints can't stop this movement; therefore, reason number 2 will still be in play if you paint with life time warranted paint.

For reason number 3 you have a clear advantage with some life time paints. Some life time paints are up to 70 percent ticker and have a greater ability to stretch. When it comes to peeling substrate, this is important, because a paint that is 70 percent thicker and more flexible will make it much harder for the underlying paint to peel and release. Most warranties do not cover inner layer peeling, however, most life time paints do give a limited warranty against peeling. It is possible that the inner layers of paint are so compromised that the problem extends beyond the capabilities of life time paint. This is especially true if the wood on the house wasn't primed before the top coat was applied when the house was built.

Check the specification of the paint carefully. Some life time paints are not thicker than 25 year paints, therefore can't offer the same protection as the thicker life time brands when it comes to peeling.

How many people want to live with the same color on their house for the rest of their life? I haven't met anyone yet that could say they did, and I have been in this business for over 25 years. The truth is most people like change. Color change is very important for most people.

The strongest reason for using life time paints really may have nothing to do with the points listed above. It may have to do more with the fact you are planning to change the color.

Life time paints can save you money.

If you are planning on changing the colors of your home you may want to consider using the life time warranted paints. They can actually save you money, even though they cost nearly double the price of 25 year paint.

Consider this: If your planning to change colors, you probably will need two coats of paint, which will cost you an extra 60 to 70 percent on average. Often you will be able to cover with one coat using a life time paint because it is a thicker paint. The difference between the cost of using one coat of life time paints and two coats of 25 year paint is going to be between 1,200 and 1,400 dollars. That's considerable savings.

Most manufacturers of life time warranted paints are counting on the average person moving every 6 to 8 years. The warranty is non transferable. If you do stay in the home long enough and make a claim on the paint, they will prorate any refund on the paint only, but not the labor.