The exterior painting season on the north-west coast can be very short and unpredictably wet, so it's necessary to plan ahead and be ready for those dry days!
Early spring is a good time to start auditioning colour palettes, testing products, and getting quotations from a few painting companies who will all be booking their exterior work months in advance.
A few things to remember when planning an exterior colour palette:
Colours appear lighter on exterior surfaces, and lighter still on horizontal surfaces like decks.
Undertones that may be subtle when you view a colour inside can be much stronger outside.
The finish and opacity of the product, as well as the texture of the surface it is applied to can alter the appearance of the colour.
Trim: 2132-10 Black, Stucco 2134-30 Iron Mountain, Shingles AF-715 Dolphin
The moral of the story is test, test, test!! Once you've narrowed down the colour choices, find a surface you can apply some test patches to in the quality and finish/opacity of product you intend to use For example, shingles that you plan to stain with a semi-solid stain
Exterior Paint finishes: Flat, Low Lustre, Satin, Semi-Gloss, Gloss
Exterior Stain opacities: Transparent, Semi-Transparent, Semi-Solid, Solid
A word about exterior stains:
These are very important to test on a sample of the same material you intend to apply them to. It's best to make sure your test sample represents the variation in colour that you'll see over the whole surface.
I recommend sampling on three boards or shingles that are not already installed, making sure that the light, medium, and dark tones are represented. This way when you test your stain for colour and opacity, you'll see the range of colours that will appear when you apply the stain.
View your samples on all sides of your house, at different times of day, and in different weather conditions, to be sure that your colour appears as you expect it to.
Benjamin Moore's Arborcoat Solid stain has ranked 'top exterior stain' in Consumer Reports!