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Exterior Painting

What Makes Exterior House Paint Different?

When you look at paint choices for your house, you'll immediately notice that there are two main types of paint available: interior and exterior. It is usually safe to presume that one is more durable than the other, but there are other differences that factor into the paint's designation. These differences are why most exterior painting professionals do not recommend painting everything in exterior paint.

Exterior house paint is subject to many environmental challenges. Depending on the area, it can be attacked by mildew, algae, general mold, impacts, wetness, extreme cold, extreme heat, high levels of UV light, drying, and more. Even worse, the outer walls are often exposed to all of these things at some point every year.

In order to combat these threats, paint manufacturers typically imbue exterior house paint with chemicals that stop the growth of mold and algae, block UV light, and help to keep the paint's resins working through severe changes in temperature and humidity. These chemicals are great on exterior walls, where any extra levels can offgas directly into the outside air and quickly dissipate. However, they are typically dangerous if allowed to get concentrated, like they would if they were inside a room.

Because of this, people who do exterior house painting will not want to use the same paint if you have them do indoor work next. Instead, a company like Patriot Painting Professionals will usually, if not always, recommend interior house paint for indoor work. Interior paint is durable enough to withstand the challenges found inside your house, and it doesn't have to repel algae or block excessive UV exposure as would be found outside.

As this shows, exterior house painting services aren't trying to skimp when they don't want to use their "outside" paint indoors. They simply want to do the safest thing.

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