Picking the coating before the color
Most people choose a color first and a product second. A painter works the other way round: what is the surface, what shape is it in, and which primer and paint will stick to it and keep stuck? This page goes through the common surfaces on a Bowling Green house and the coating questions each raises.
Bowling Green's normals and climate zone
National Weather Service climate normals for Bowling Green, 1991-2020, give an annual average temperature of 59.1°F (average maximum 69.7°F, average minimum 48.5°F), normal annual precipitation of 50.10 inches and normal annual snowfall of 8.5 inches; July is the warmest month (average 79.7°F) and January the coldest (average 37.2°F). DOE's Building America guide to climate regions by county (August 2015) lists Warren County, Kentucky, in the Mixed-Humid region and IECC climate zone 4A.
For product choice, the useful takeaway is that an exterior coating here has to handle both a warm month averaging 79.7°F and a cold month averaging 37.2°F, plus the precipitation in between. Labels matter: most list a minimum application temperature, and a cold-weather formula may let a crew work later into the season.
Bare and painted wood
Bare wood takes a primer before anything else; the primer seals the grain and gives the topcoat something to grip. Over sound old paint, spot priming of bare and patched areas is usually enough. Over old oil-based paint, a painter may test adhesion or use a bonding primer, since water-based paint can peel off a glossy oil coat that wasn't scuffed. Ask what the existing paint is and how they know.
Fiber cement and engineered siding
These products often come primed. Painters generally use a quality acrylic latex topcoat, and the main question is the condition of cut ends and joints. Fresh caulk where boards meet trim helps keep water out.
Brick and masonry
Masonry wants a breathable masonry primer and paint, or a stain designed for brick. Moisture moving through a wall can push a non-breathable coating off. Ask about efflorescence cleaning first, and remember that painted brick is hard to reverse.
Metal: railings, gutters, doors
Rust has to come off, by wire brush or sanding, before a rust-inhibiting primer goes on. Galvanized metal often needs cleaning and a primer made for it. Skipping this step is the most common reason paint on railings flakes in a season or two.
Inside the house
- Walls: eggshell or satin for most rooms; flat for low-traffic areas and ceilings.
- Kitchens and baths: satin or semi-gloss, which shrug off moisture and cleaning.
- Trim and doors: semi-gloss or gloss enamel, scuffed and cleaned first.
- Stains and patches: a stain-blocking primer so they don't bleed through.
Our paint sheens and finishes guide explains how sheen affects cleaning and how much surface flaws show. The drywall repair and surface preparation guide covers patching.
Primer and older paint
Under EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in homes, childcare facilities and preschools built before 1978 must hold RRP certification, firms included, even sole proprietorships, and their workers must be trained in lead-safe work practices.
Scuffing old trim so primer will stick is exactly the kind of work that rule covers on a pre-1978 house. Ask whether the painter's firm holds RRP certification, and how they'll collect dust and chips.
Asking about products
A clear proposal names the primer and paint product for each surface, the sheen and the number of coats. If one bid lists products and another just says "paint," ask the second painter to be specific. The pricing guide explains how product class affects price. Request a callback and one independent painter serving Bowling Green will be in touch to see the surfaces in person.