Paint for wooden shutters

Hello.
I have searched the forum for advice. There seem to be two threads that are possibly relevant.

Painting shutters.
and
Recommended paint for shutters

The first says almost nothing about painting shutters, rather the various preferencers for Alu, electric etc.
The second is more pertinant but diverts into natural paints.

So please forgive me for asking the question again.

Our shutters are in good shape, but have some paint cracking and a little bit of peeling. I intend to rub down so the surface that will be re-painted is either bare wood or flat paint.

My thinking is that water based paints will not create a surface that is sufficiently hard wearing.

Any clear advice on what paint to use please?

Zinsser is a contender I think? Their primers are brilliant.

Thanks for your help.

Graeme

Well I had dark wooden shutters in Bretagne and every year or two I gave them a couple of coats of the brown wood treatment gel by Baufix at Lidl in 2.5L white plastic buckets that do 25m². I did the sheds too and for less than €10/tin it is a lot cheaper than the expensive brand names. Lidl only stock the products a couple of times per year and I would go and buy several at once for that price. Brushes wash out under a tap and its all waterproof.

2 Likes

I’ll be watching this thread with interest.
We have many shutters which are not easily accessible, so need something which really will last for several years…

Its a job I will be doing next week weather permitting. I am using the traditional oil based paint I used 15 years ago so no complaints. Johnstones UK paint. Just hope when I open the tin its still usable.

1 Like

If the shutters are painted and not wood treated, oil based paint is way more durable than any water based paint.

2 Likes

I think much depends on the weather hitting the shutters and the quality of the shutters themselves.

We have used V33 oil based paint many times and whilst it is of decent quality it doesn’t offer the length of protection that it states on the tin. Our old house was south facing so for many months had the sun blasting the shutters which meant the colour faded quickly and they needed re-painting every three years as opposed to the twelve stated by the manufacturer.

2 Likes

We use the Swedish paint Uula, done it once never had to do it again so far. In a nifty blue grey.

5 Likes

Yes, a very good product.

1 Like

I agree. Zinsser is my go to paint for tricky or problem areas.
I’ve never had an issue after using their paints, however they are eye watering expensive if purchased in France.

Zinsser paints / primers from Amazon FR

Tip from my bil and his son who have a painting and decorating business in Frejus, Sikkens or Tollens paint for the shutters as they gain an extra year against the sunshine.

4 Likes

I have had good success with the Extreme climates V33 paint.

1 Like

Not just France, due to a problem with the shellac beatles, shellac has risen sharply in price and Zinser paints are shellac based.

Yes they build in a UV protection to their coatings, very good but didnt know you could get them in France

I’ve certainly seen Sikkens

1 Like

Perfect timing for this question, as we will have to do our own shutters this year. Not sure when they were last painted, certainly more than 7 years ago (before we bought the place), so they’ve not done too badly, but no idea which paint was used. Similarly, we have an outside bannister and railing which need repainting, albeit they are east facing and not so exposed to the sun.

Thank you all.

Paint technology moves on, so I have also contacted Brewers (Paint merchants), set out the issues to them and asked for their advice. Which is :-

Thank you for your enquiry, if your preferred choice is to have a solvent based product I would recommend the Johnstone flexible satin or gloss finish, this is a product that will flex with the wood at different seasons reducing the maintenance cycle, it can be mixed to the the RAL colour you have chosen , if you go back to bare wood there is also a flexible primer u/coat this can be used on bare wood and also any sound clean painted surface, I have attached the data sheets for these products, these products are available from any of our branches.

And about the satin paint:-

Johnstone’s Trade Stormshield Flexible Satin is a premium quality, microporous satin paint formulated to provide longer lasting protection to exterior woodwork. It produces a finish with excellent resistance to cracking and flaking and is designed specifically for use in conjunction with Johnstone’s Trade Stormshield Flexible Primer Undercoat.

*To ensure the paint system achieves its 8 years to first maintenance the product must be applied in accordance with a project specific Johnstone’s Trade Technical Specification and BS 6150,2006 Code of Practice for Painting Buildings.

1 Litre of Zinsser BIN is about ÂŁ27 in UK.

When we bought our house the shutters were varnished and in very good condition. Around eleven years ago my wife decided she fancied green shutters. So I bought some nice De Walt power tools, took all the shutters down sanded them back to bare wood and used lashings of Tollens primer and paint. The result looked great but didn’t have the resilience of the varnish. Were I doing the job again I think I’d use Zinsser.

Is one not limited by the Marie on the RAL you can use?

1 Like

Not here. Which is strange as in a natural park, so I would be happy if they controlled things more.

There’s Zinser primers specifically for old external paint - but like hens teeth in France.

Most external paints are now Water based. I’m using Sikkens.

Manubricole seemed the cheapest and has a choice of other brands

1 Like