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Shed paint

CraigStu

Well-known member
Joined
May 22, 2014
Messages
4,086
Location
Blacksburg, Va
I bought a shed kit from Little Cottage Co and they recommend painting the LP SmartSide w/ acrylic enamel so I looked at L yesterday and found 3 possibles. Sherwin Williams Everlast $82/gal. SW Weathershield $64. Valspar Storm Coat $41. What surprised me is the price range. Do any of you have experience w/ these or suggest any others? 2nd Q is the floor. I have the framing done and need some sheets of 3/4" something. I was originally thinking treated plywood but wonder if standard t&g subflooring also painted w/ the above would be a better idea.
 
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nadogail

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Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Messages
32,285
Location
Coronado, CA
I have never been happy with the results from using the cheapest paint. Good paint bought cheaply has served me well; look for remnants and "OOPS Paint"
 

engineer2

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Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Messages
11,858
Location
Chicago burbs
I used Dutch Boy Maxbond Plus for my shed and it still looks great 10 years later. $55 per gallon.
I would definitely consider S-W products too. Similar price.
You get what you pay for.
 

Shiftless

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Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
14,835
Location
East Bay SFO
I have never been happy with the results from using the cheapest paint. Good paint bought cheaply has served me well; look for remnants and "OOPS Paint"
I’m with nadogail on that. I get a small discount off retail at my local Benjamin Moore dealer. Knowledgeable advice and lightning fast service whenever I walk in.
Good advice about the “opps” or mismatched paint. If you only need a couple of gallons for your project, and aren’t too fussy about color, you can buy 2 or three gallons of top quality paint that got mixed wrong and blend them together. You’ll save at least $100.
 

kaehlin

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Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Messages
274
Location
East Lansing, MI
As others have said, quality paint is worth it. Oops is a good suggestion to save money if you can find a good color. Surface prep is more important than anything else.
 

wolfhawk73

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 27, 2016
Messages
177
Location
Eastern North Carolina
I've found that the good stuff is always worth it. It holds up to the weather better, maintaining gloss and color retention as well as adhesion. Wash it down once a year, and it should last a decade.

Of course, my cousin has been in sales with PPG for 30 years, so I get his discount. :)
 

caleb383

Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2026
Messages
6
I bought a shed kit from Little Cottage Co and they recommend painting the LP SmartSide w/ acrylic enamel so I looked at L yesterday and found 3 possibles. Sherwin Williams Everlast $82/gal. SW Weathershield $64. Valspar Storm Coat $41. What surprised me is the price range. Do any of you have experience w/ these or suggest any others? 2nd Q is the floor. I have the framing done and need some sheets of 3/4" something. I was originally thinking treated plywood but wonder if standard t&g subflooring also painted w/ the above would be a better idea.
The price differences for exterior paint usually come down to the solids content and how long they resist fading. For the floor, using standard tongue and groove subflooring is a solid choice if you seal it thoroughly, but treated plywood gives better peace of mind against moisture.
 
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Skooterj

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Joined
Mar 11, 2021
Messages
758
Location
Indiana
More than once "Oops" paint settled a disagreement between me and my lovely wife! 😘
Yeah, I bought a gallon of "Oops" paint from Lowes to cover some possible lead paint in a cellar of a house I was selling and the buyers FHA loan required all lead paint to be covered or scraped off, even in my cellar and even without knowing for sure it contained lead. So I just wanted the cheapest, did not care about color at all. I did care that once I got home, the can was 90% water. Someone had obviously used the entire gallon and refilled it with water before returning it to Lowes. Now I always make sure to have someone open the paint before I buy it. I ended up painting the cellar 4 different colors, and it was not pretty. But the possible lead paint was covered.
 
OP
C

CraigStu

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Joined
May 22, 2014
Messages
4,086
Location
Blacksburg, Va
I looked at the standard subflooring and just couldn't get moisture damage out of my mind so I bought the treated 3/4 plywood yesterday and painted the edges. Today I am going to buy a $179 Ridgid framing nailer and $95 of 2 and 3 inch nails. I priced doing the shed w/ construction screws vs nails and nails are way cheaper. I have a brad nailer and love using it for trim so figure a framing nailer will be a great addition to my tools.
 

engineer2

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 13, 2009
Messages
11,858
Location
Chicago burbs
An alternative to a treated plywood floor is treated deck boards or 2x6's tightly butted together. I put mine down after the walls were up.
Advantages:
Minor water spills (snow melting off the snowblower) seep between the joints and go into the gravel underneath. No puddles.
If a board gets damaged it can easily be replaced.
The building inspector thought it was a good idea.
 

readhead

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Joined
Dec 8, 2012
Messages
6,204
Location
Durango, Co.
My shed builder would always have left over paint from every building. They would dump into a clean 30 gallon drum and use it to paint sheds for lot stock. What was amazing is that no matter what was poured into the drum, after it was mixed it always came out as some shade of tan.
 

BurtEggley

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 8, 2024
Messages
912
Sherwin Williams is a great paint, and what I use and would use. Usually their techs will steer you to the right paint based on your need. However, if low price is the goal, and having many color tints does not matter, often counties have cheap remix paint that come in thru HHW that is inexpensive. Might check with Habitat for Humanity to see if they sell it there. Christianburg is supposed to have "recolor" paints. https://recolorpaints.com/pages/shop-our-paints
 

Dan in Pasadena

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Joined
Feb 18, 2009
Messages
13,259
Location
Pasadena, CA
I sold paint for 7+ years way back in the day when Sears was THE place to go for paint. Yeah, for you younger guys that may sound unthinkable but it was absolutely true back then (1970's).

Paint is just chemicals. Better chemicals cost more money, hence better paints cost more money. I know we all say things/products are not as good anymore. And that is true to a degree. But relatively speaking I think more expensive paints are made with the better stuff.
 

jjrbus

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 8, 2018
Messages
630
Location
Florida
I sold paint for 7+ years way back in the day when Sears was THE place to go for paint. Yeah, for you younger guys that may sound unthinkable but it was absolutely true back then (1970's).

Paint is just chemicals. Better chemicals cost more money, hence better paints cost more money. I know we all say things/products are not as good anymore. And that is true to a degree. But relatively speaking I think more expensive paints are made with the better stuff.
Back in the day I remember when Sears had tailors in the clothing dept!
 

Dan in Pasadena

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Joined
Feb 18, 2009
Messages
13,259
Location
Pasadena, CA
Back in the day I remember when Sears had tailors in the clothing dept!
Yup. My future brother-in-law worked in the Men's department. He used to iron his money on the giant "mangle" press and the money would come out crisp. If he washed it with soap & water, let it dry THEN pressed it, it would come out super crisp like a potato chip. We'd laugh about that. My buddies were making $1.65/hr minimum wage then. I was making $1.90 so I thought I was doing SOOO much better. Laughable now.
 

Beamer

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 21, 2020
Messages
1,480
Location
Northeast
I love Sherwin Williams Woodscapes Solid Color (water cleanup) Acrylic Stain. Eight years warranty and the next application goes right over the previous ones. Self priming, one coat cover, easy clean up and not bad smelling.
I have had it on our house for longer that I can remember.
 
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