Whether you are looking to refinish a porch, rejuvenate tired windows or add some flair to your outside walls Element Painters Inc. has the exterior solution for you.

With Canada’s often harsh climate, buildings show the adverse affects of our cold winters and hot summers, making the best paint jobs look aged and worn out sooner than more stable climates.

Common signs of weather damage are: cracked and peeling paint, fading, water damage, mould, wood rot and even damage to the surface underneath the paint.

Weather damage is caused by a multitude of elements. Depending on the location of the building, wind and sun can be hard on painted surfaces. Rain, ice and snow are often responsible for damaged exterior surfaces.

Wood and masonry expands and contracts in hot and cold weather, with the paint on top often fluctuating with it. Should water get under the paint, wood and masonry absorb the water leading to rot and crumbling masonry. Direct sunlight and wind can with time fade, crack and discolouration of paint on exterior surfaces.

The key to beautiful exterior paint jobs is always surface preparation. There are three steps to a good surface prep job:

Once the substrate is cleaned, repaired of any damage and primed the finishing coats are carefully applied using a brush and roller or spray equipment. With today’s technologies, exterior paints and stains are always being reformulated and refined to make them more durable, colourfast and eco-friendly.

Oil vs. Latex

Traditionally, because of our climate and its extremities, oil paint has been the first choice of painters due to its durability outside.

While oil (or alkyd as it is often called) is a good candidate for exteriors, it is not particularly good for the environment. The fumes from the paint release harmful vapors called VOCs into the atmosphere. Cleaning tools used with oil paints requires solvents which are also harmful in the air we breathe and in our water table.

Due to increasing demand for eco-friendly coatings and products, and there are now a plethora of exterior no-VOC latex paints that have both durability and are colourfast. These coatings exceed the previously used exterior oil paints in their application and endurance.