Need exterior paint info

[RickO]

Hi All. I will be having my 1925 craftsman house painted soon.  It has redwood siding. The present paint is in bad shape. Peeling, chipping etc. It was painted in 1995, so it is way over do. We had a few bids and was told it would probably cost about $15000 to paint our house in the condition its in. They said extensive prep work taking much time to prepare for paint. 2 bidders didn't want to go that far on prep, too much work and time for them.
The one bidder we are considering will strip to wood where necessary and smooth painted areas. He claims it will take 2 weeks or more just to prep the wood surface for paint, says to complete job in about 4 weeks. The house is approx. 20 feet high at its highest peak, approx. 1000 square feet..
The Paint The suggests is a Solid Body Acrylic stain. After reading up on this type of paint, I learned it is a thinner paint than standard non stain paint.  He says no its not?? My thoughts are That we need a thick paint to last longer.  With me not knowing much about todays paints, I have no idea what is really needed for my type of house. By the way, he wants $11,000. I had asked on our first meeting and he said $12000 to $14000. WAY more than we want to pay, BUT we need to get the house back to normal. My Wife and I checked a couple of houses of our style he has done, one a few years ago and 5 years ago and they look great.
Now what about the paint he suggests?? Benjamin-moore or Cabot are his suggestions for the Solid Body Acrylic stain. I live in the Los Angeles area with average temps in the 70's, not much rain, none during summer. Thanks

[Jared]

In my personal opinion, BM and Cabot make some of the best solid stains out there.

But I'll let the exterior experts comment further, as I lack the knowledge to answer your questions fully.

[rmichael]

Rick,

A solid stain is intended to penetrate the wood and is not like paint. Stain, almost by definition, provide protection in a very different way than paint. With paint the thicker the (surface) dried paint film the better, stain penetrates the wood and binds the wood fibers, the dried surface film is minimal to almost non-existent.
Stain may be a good choice since priming is not required, but a stain job will require more frequent application than a properly applied paint.
A primer would be recommended if you plan to paint the raw redwood.

BM or Cabot would be a good choice..

Best Luck,
rmichael

[RickO]

Thanks guys.. I really need to go over again with the painter the exact paint the he wants to use.. I just are not understanding his thoughts on the stain. When they scrape and sand, there will be much more smooth paint left than raw wood. So I'm thinking stain is for bare wood and not painted surfaces if I understand right. I'll let him explain to me again.

[rmichael]

Rick,

If they are scraping paint then stain is NOT the answer ( solid or otherwise ). A better option would be a coat of oil primer and a topcoat of acrylic latex paint or, if the surface is rough, a coat of "Peel Bond" and an acrylic latex paint for a topcoat. No type of stain is intended to go over a painted surface.

Best Luck,
rmichael

[RickO]

Rick,

If they are scraping paint then stain is NOT the answer ( solid or otherwise ). A better option would be a coat of oil primer and a topcoat of acrylic latex paint or, if the surface is rough, a coat of "Peel Bond" and an acrylic latex paint for a topcoat. No type of stain is intended to go over a painted surface.

Best Luck,
rmichael

Thanks alot man, thats what I needed to hear.  like I said before, I need to talk to the painter again, and go over his plans now that I'm armed with the good info from you Guys..  Plus all the paint info I have read in the internet.  Thanks for now, will be back if I need more info on this subject, or to go over what he has to say next..