Years ago, when it came to painting jobs around the home, there were really only two types of surfaces you had to deal with: old paint and bare wood. High-quality paints (interior and exterior) generally performed well on either, so choosing a good one was not a difficult process.

Today, however, many materials other than wood are being used in homes. A representative but by no means comprehensive list of these materials includes stucco, fiber cement, hardboard, EIFS, steel, and vinyl and aluminum siding and polyester/fiberglass composites.

These materials are sufficiently different from wood that consumers often have questions about what paint they should use.

Fortunately, many paint manufacturers have formulated specialized products for different types of substrates. There are paints for masonry, for metal, for hardboard, fiber cement and for aluminum and vinyl siding. If you have specific questions about these products, your retailer can be helpful in selecting an appropriate paint for your surface.

Of course, choosing the right paint is only one step in achieving good results on nonwood substrates. There are two other keys: 1) proper surface preparation and 2) the use of an appropriate primer.

As always, proper surface preparation is a must. If you have a masonry surface, efflorescence should be removed with a wire brush. If you are dealing with surfaces that contain old paint, be careful that you don’t scrub so hard that you expose the underlying surface. A new feature called Prep, Prime and Paint will help you with a variety of these surfaces – both interior and exterior.

Once you’ve finished prepping, decide whether you need to prime. Some materials, hardboard for example, come primed from the factory. You also don’t need a primer if you’re repainting and the old coating is sound. Finally, you won’t have to prime clean vinyl. In just about any other situation, priming is highly recommended. Always make sure you use the right primer for the substrate. Bare metal, for example, requires a corrosion-inhibitive primer. Again, check our Prep, Prime and Paint section for the specific recommendations.

One final point: if you cannot find a paint designed specifically for the surface you are painting, don’t worry. So long as you prepare the surface properly and use a good primer, a high-quality all-acrylic house paint should give you satisfactory results. A new brochure from The Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute called Painting Today’s New Substrates summarizes surface prep, priming and topcoatings these materials.

Remember, the Paint Professional at your local store is an invaluable resource in helping you to select the right product for your application.

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