The Ultimate Guide to Painting Alternatives

Painting Alternatives

• Vinyl
• Cement 
• Ceramic 

While you may not have hundreds of options to choose from, these 3 are all valid choices when looking for paint alternatives for the exterior of your home. All will protect your home and provide better care than traditional latex paints. I will be going through the pros of the painting alternatives listed above. 

Vinyl siding

This painting alternative is not necessarily an alternative rather a form of siding that is low maintenance and has lots of benefits. As most of you know vinyl is a plastic material siding with low strength but also vapors to move freely from your home. Vinyl is an extremely popular type of siding due to its price and color options. Yet there are always the issues of strength, fading, and mold growth. 

Pros of vinyl siding as a painting alternative include 

• Cheap
• Thousands of Colors 
• Overall Value
• Design

Cement Siding 

This is another siding that you can use to help color and keep your house low maintenance, this painting alternative is also extremely durable. This siding this also extremely durable, it is used heavily in the southern United States because of the heavy rain and hurricanes. Some examples of cement siding are Stucco, Cinder, and Cement molds. 

Pros of cement as a painting alternative include

• Durable
• Doesn't Fade 
• Energy Efficient

Ceramics

Ceramic coatings are a great way to protect your home. Ceramics like Rhino Shield are made to seal and protect your home from all of the elements. The best part about ceramics is you can apply the coating to your pre-existing siding. Ceramics like Rhino Shield often are flexible and breathe with your home meaning the coating will not crack like paint. Ceramics also don't fade over time like vinyl or paints.

Pros of ceramic coatings as a painting alternative include 

• Doesn't Fade
• Flexible 
• Water Proofs The Home 
• Doesn't Chip Like Paint 
• Prevents Home From Fungi 
• Energy Efficient 
• 25 Year Warranty From Rhino Shield 
• Dry At About 8-9 Mils
• Less Than 100 Grams of VOC's per liter

 Acrylics 

These paints are seen as one of the best painting options for your home. The reason for this is the thickness they dry at coming in at about 1 to 3 mils with a solid volume of about 30% to 40%. All the specifics are on https://www.thisoldhouse.com/painting/21017905/all-about-exterior-paint  they have a great list of other specs on Acrylic paints. 

Pros of acrylic paints as a painting alternative include

• High Solid Makeup
• Drys Thicker Than Most Latex Paints 
• Comes In Multiple Multiple Finishes and Sheens 
• Low VOC Content
• Cheap 

There are tons of different paint and coating companies you can choose from, all with their own benefits. Some you can yourself others you need a contractor or a company like us to do. All that matters is the value you get from the paint or coating, there are certain things that you need to look for when painting yourself or when a company does it. 

Preparation work: Prep work when applying paint alternatives is crucial, the reason for this is that if applied in the wrong conditions the whole job could go to waste and you just spent your money on something that will need to be redone. Things like power washing the home, scraping off any excess paint and fungi, application in the right weather conditions, and lastly taping off any areas you do not want to be covered. 

Durability: Will this paint, coating, or alternative last? With a common paint job, odds are you will need to repaint 5 to 10 years after the job is done. Even some of the highest quality paints end up fading, chipping, peeling, or bubbling. There are many reasons for this and you can find these on the Rhino Shield website through our other blogs or service pages. Another thing to look for is does the company have a warranty that will last as long as the paint does? Some companies will give you a 3-year warranty then 2 years later you end up having to repaint, then you are paying again to have your house painted. 

Breathability: Does it allow vapors to escape your home and not build up in the walls of your home? If your paint or alternative doesn't allow the vapors in your home to escape then mold and other fungi will begin to grow inside the walls of your home. This is one of the most important things to look for in paints or coatings because if it does not do this then you could put your family and your home at risk. 

Flexibility: Having your paint or coating breath and flex with your home is more important than you might think. Having your paint alternative be able to flex with your home as it expands and contracts are something that often gets overlooked. Having this feature allows you to have your paint on the home for longer, regular paints crack, peel, and bubble when a home expands and contracts over time. The times cracking and peeling can occur vary based on other conditions but on average it ranges from 2 to 6 years after the paint job.