Exterior Paint Reviews

Consumer Reports has a monopoly on full reviews of exterior house paint. The editors' simulated testing on house paint is ongoing, measuring how paints perform over time. Many professional painters offer a variety of criticisms of the Consumer Reports reviews, but none of those critics offers an alternative other than to say that professional experience trumps testing in labs.

Consumer Reports' testers simulate the aging process to learn about endurance of exterior paint. They subject painted wood to conditions that roughly accelerate aging three times faster than real time. Editors evaluate appearance after simulated three-, six- and nine-year periods, including resistance to dirt, mildew and color changing. One flaw with this slow methodology is that manufacturers engage in continuing research and development and regularly introduce new formulations (which may not always result in a new product name). Consumer Reports explains in a recent issue that testers verify whether formulations have changed and are forced to start over when changes are made. As a result, some -- if not many -- of the best exterior house paints are not currently rated. The magazine rates and ranks 10 fully tested exterior paints in the June 2008 issue, publishing partial results of 20 other house paints in various stages of testing. Since its formulas have changed, no Sherwin-Williams paints are rated, yet Sherwin-Williams is the bestselling brand nationwide. Benjamin Moore and Ace (Ace Hardware) are excluded from all the paint-ratings charts for the same reason. Those brands receive accolades from many professionals and do-it-yourselfers who have used them.

Another limitation of Consumer Reports' coverage is its dearth of regional brands. Editors note that local weather conditions are an important buying consideration. For that reason, other experts recommend paints that are specifically formulated for the rainy Pacific Northwest (mildew resistant) or the sunny South (fade resistant), for example. In spite of these limitations, Consumer Reports has the best exterior house paint coverage. Other consumer, home and DIY (do-it-yourself) magazines and websites have fine information, but virtually no mention of brands. Newspapers, books and even trade journals offer no recent guidance in picking brands of paint. Popular user-review websites only contain a smattering of comments. Forums are the best place to find professional and user opinion on the best house paint. Contractor Talk's Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum and Paint Talk's Professional Painting Contractors Forum are great sources, because of their use by working professionals.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

Experts concur that the quality of the house paint is much more important than the brand. Tests show that the leading brands leapfrog each other in best quality with new formulations. The Paint Quality Institute and many individual painters say that no paint is the absolute best, but the premium paint in the manufacturer's lineup is better and often doesn’t cost much more than their lesser formulas.

Sherwin-Williams is the bestselling paint company, manufacturing the Sherwin-Williams brand, as well as Dutch Boy, Pratt & Lambert and others. More professional house painters who aim for quality over price prefer Sherwin-Williams paint in general; for premium quality and endurance, they choose Sherwin-Williams Duration paint.

Benjamin Moore paints are also favored by many professionals. Some recommend Benjamin Moore when customers want high quality, but aren’t willing to pay for the absolute best. Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore have, by far, the most support in both contractor and user forums.

Behr has some advocates, but many more detractors. Professional painters express strong disrespect for the quality of Behr exterior paint in several forums. Consumer reaction is more mixed, but Behr is the only brand we found with multiple consumer complaints.

California and Glidden house paint fare well in recent formal testing, but they haven’t received much support from users. California is a regional brand, and we found little comment about it in general. Professional and user reaction is mixed, but the sample is small.

Specific stains are almost never reviewed. Olympic Premium Solid Color Stain tops a recent formal test.