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In this article, we will be looking at the best exterior masonry paint on the market. This will include what each paint can be used for, as well as the main features and any negative points you should know about.
Our main goal here, is to help you find the best exterior masonry paint for your job. Whether you are painting an entire house, or just a small exterior wall, there are several masonry paints to choose from. The goal of this article is to help you choose the most suitable one for your project.
What is exterior masonry paint?
Exterior masonry paint has been designed specifically for exterior walls. As well as other exterior masonry. This includes a variety of different surfaces, including:
- Brickwork
- Concrete
- Cement
- Stone
- Render
- Pebble dash
The most common types of masonry paint are acrylic based. This makes them waterproof and very effective at protecting properties against weather.
For this reason, exterior masonry paints are an excellent way to protect your property from penetrating damp. The paint provides a protective breathable coating over the original masonry surface.
Another benefit of masonry paint is that aesthetically, it looks very nice. It gives the property a clean Smooth finish and is a great way to update tired, old looking property walls.
#1 Top Pick – Dulux Weather Shield Smooth Masonry Paint
Our number one choice for the best exterior masonry paint, is Dulux Weather Shield. This product stands out amongst the competition. The quality of finish is second to none, and there are many other benefits to this paint.
Dulux are a very well established brand here in the UK. They offer a wide range of paints, for a variety of different jobs.
As with most other Dulux paints, you will be paying a little extra. However, the small additional cost is well worth it, especially when you consider the quality.
Dulux weather shield contains a resin acrylic formula. This provides the highest level of protection from weather and moisture. The paint is micro porous and breathable, which means rain is unable to penetrate, but it still allows air and moisture to be released. The paint is also UV resistant, which is something you don’t find with most other masonry paints.
These weatherproofing features mean that Dulux weather shield boasts 15+ years of weather protection.
The paint also contains algicide and fungicide ingredients. Which means it is mould, algae, and fungal resistant. This is a very common problem with other brands. However, Dulux’s formula makes it nearly impossible for these types of problems to form.
Finally, the coverage is excellent on a variety of surfaces. These include, brick, stone, render, pebble dash and concrete. Once applied the paint produces a waterproof barrier in just 30 minutes
Main Features
- 15 Years all weather protection
- Flexible and durable paint film to avoid cracking, flaking, and peeling
- UV resistant
- Micro porous and breathable
- Mould and algae resistant formula
- Fast drying time. Fully water resistant in just 30 minutes
- Excellent coverage and smooth finish
You can learn more about Dulux Weather Shield and read hundreds of customer reviews on Amazon by clicking here
Leyland Granocryl Smooth Masonry Paint
This Granocryl masonry paint from Leyland, is a great exterior masonry paint. it offers a highly durable weatherproof finish and can be applied to a variety of surfaces. Such as, Brickwork and stone, renders and Pebble dash, concrete and other similar surfaces.
The paint contains anti mould ingredients and provides excellent elasticity. This means the paint is extremely durable in all types of weather, from extreme cold to high temperatures. The paints formula allows it to expand and contract without the surface cracking and flaking away.
Leyland Granocryl offers an extremely smooth and high quality finish. The coverage is also very good. It covers 8m2 when applied to unpainted surfaces, and up to 13m2 for previously painted surfaces. We have also found that this paint is very easy to apply.
Most surfaces will require 2 coats for the best possible finish. The drying time is just 1-2 hours depending on the weather. It is recommended that you can apply a second coat after just 4 hours.
Main Features
- 10 years weather protection
- High durability and elasticity.
- Easy to apply
- Excellent coverage
- High quality finish
- May need more coats on fresh unpainted surfaces
You can learn more about Leyland Granocryl and read customer reviews on Amazon by clicking here
Sandtex Ultra Smooth Masonry Paint
Another popular choice is Sandtex Ultra Smooth Masonry Paint. This brand is very well established and has been around for over 50 years. They are part of the Crown family of paints, which is another highly respected brand in the UK.
Sandtex specialise in masonry paints and have done for 50+ years. So, you can be sure that a lot of work has gone into perfecting these products.
The product does everything you would expect from an exterior masonry paint. It can be used on practically all exterior masonry surfaces. These include:
- Rendering
- Roughcast
- Pebble dash
- Concrete
- Blockwork
- Brickwork
- Previously painted surfaces
The paint has an extremely smooth and creamy texture. This makes it very easy to apply quickly over large surface areas. The coverage is very good.
Like other products the formula is completely breathable and contains anti mould and fungus ingredients, to stop the formation of mould.
It is also highly flexible, making Sandtex particularly resistant to peeling, cracking, or flaking.
Main Features
- Sandtex Micro seal technology offers ultimate weather protection
- Highly flexible and durable
- Excellent coverage and easy application
- 100% rainproof in just 1 hour
- 15 years weather protection
- Available in 24 colours
You can learn more about Sandtex Ultra Smooth Masonry Paint and read customer reviews on Amazon by clicking here
Polar Premium Smooth Masonry Paint
Polar are another highly rated Masonry paint. Their paint is designed to be flexible and hard wearing, whilst still giving a very high quality, decorative finish.
This paint offers a smooth, high performance wall covering in 1-2 coats, depending on the surface.
It is formulated to be rain and water resistant whilst still providing excellent breathability. This means water is unable to penetrate the surface, but excess moisture can easily escape.
The paint also contains ceramic sphere technology which provides added insulation to the walls of your property.
Main Features
- Smooth decorative finish
- Good coverage per meter (up to 16m2)
- Special formula improves insulation
- Flexible and hard wearing
- Waterproof & vapour permeable
- Available in 4 colours
We do really like this paint and it does claim to offer extra insulation benefits. However, it is a little expensive compared with the other brands we have listed.
You can learn more about Polar Premium Smooth Masonry Paint and read customer reviews on Amazon by clicking here
Rustins Interior & Exterior Masonry Paint
Rustins exterior masonry paint is our favourite paint for small painting jobs. It comes in tins of 500ml. This makes it ideal for small jobs, such as painting lintels, windowsills, and small walls. It can also be used indoors in cellars and on other internal masonry.
This would not be a good choice for painting an entire house. If this is your goal, then you should look at the 4 paints we recommended above.
Rustins masonry paint is a quick drying, acrylic based masonry paint. Once applied, it takes approximately 30 minutes to dry and a second coat can be added after 4 hours.
One small tin gives very good coverage (14ms per litre).
Main Features
- Quick drying and hard wearing
- Convenient 500ml tins, perfect for smaller projects
- No primer required
- Covers many surfaces in just 1 coat
- Fast drying time (30 minutes)
- Can be used internally and externally
You can learn more about Rustins Interior & Exterior Masonry Paint and read customer reviews on Amazon by clicking here
Do you need a primer / Undercoat?
Whether you need a primer or undercoat will depend on the surface you are adding masonry paint too.
If you are painting over existing paint, you should be able to apply directly over original coats, without any kind of undercoat or primer.
If you are painting on to clean, unpainted brickwork, render or pebble dash, you should also be able to paint straight on to the walls without a primer. These surfaces will generally need between 2-3 coats.
It is advised that you add a thinned coat of the masonry paint as your first coat, this can be thinned by adding a small amount of water to your masonry paint.
The water can help to prime the surface ready for painting. The reason for this, is some surfaces will absorb quite a lot of water on their first coat. This is particularly true for things such as new unpainted render.
Occasionally, if the surface you are painting is loose or powdery, you may need to use a primer. However, it is important to remember that masonry paint is formulated to be breathable. Adding a primer could impede this process and cause the walls to sweat.
Ideally a primer should only be used if absolutely necessary.
Prepping walls before Painting
Before you start painting, it is extremely important that you put a good amount of time and effort, into preparing the surface.
The amount of preparation will show in the finished result. It could also affect the life of your masonry paint. Generally, these types of paint will last 10-15 years before they need repainting. Poor preparation of the surface could drastically reduce this number.
Not only that, but poor preparation could have a detrimental effect on the quality of finish you get.
Firstly, you should ensure that the surface is completely clean. This will involve brushing away all loose debris, dust, and dirt. This will likely include washing down all the surfaces.
You should also make sure that all cracks and holes are filled correctly and any loose material around these cracks is removed. You don’t want to be painting onto any loose surfaces.
For any areas of render or pebble dash, that are powdery, or crumbling. You may need to remove and patch these areas before you apply your masonry paint.
The goal here is to have a clean, smooth, defect free surface. The surface you are painting onto, should reflect how you want the finished job to look. If you don’t address these things before painting, they will be noticeable once the job is complete.
Conclusion
in our opinion, the paints listed above are the best exterior masonry paints on the market right now. Dulux Weather Shield is our first choice you can check it out here. It is slightly more expensive, but for the small increase in price, it is well worth the high quality of finish you will receive.
With that said, all the masonry paints listed above are very high quality. Any of these paints will help you to achieve a high quality finish on the exterior of your property. Exterior masonry paints are a fantastic way of damp proofing your property. As well as adding additional insulation, and an aesthetically pleasing finish to the outside of your building.
