Client wants pergola painted black.

956 Views 14 Replies 12 Participants Last post by jennifertemple, 16 d ago

noffkepaint

Discussion Starter · 1 mo ago

Hi everyone,

These forums have been invaluable to me so thank you all. Tiny bit of background: worked painting houses in the summer from ages 16-32 with a crew. Despite my protests the crew never hired younger guys and when they all retired within a few years the crew just ceased to be.

Now I’m 35 and have started out on my own. As the most junior member of the old crew I pretty much was never involved with choosing products, so despite having technical ability I’m a bit ignorant in regards to choosing the right product for certain applications.

Anyway now that the unnecessary information is out of the way:

A prospective client contacted me wanting her pergola painted flat black. I advised against this, as I’ve seen flat exterior paint of all colors fail after a few years of full UV exposure. Even if the paint didn’t fail, it certainly would fade. I believe a semi-solid stain is the best choice, but client wants it to be truly black, not a sort of chocolate brown.

What product (brand specific) would you use for this application, mainly focusing on fade resistance? Previous coating is water-based semi-solid stain.
Thank you all for your wisdom.

Plant Sky Building Shade Wood

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cocomonkeynuts

· #2 · 1 mo ago

Solid stain, whatever brand you can get locally. As far as fade they're all about the same in black

Reactions: 4

noffkepaint

Discussion Starter · #3 · 1 mo ago

cocomonkeynuts said:
Solid stain, whatever brand you can get locally. As far as fade they're all about the same in black

They are all about the same when it comes to black, but do they resist it decently? I’m worried that the stain will fade and look terrible within a year or two and then the work has my name on it.

ssewall

· #4 · 1 mo ago

If there's something black you can put on that that won't be eaten alive by the sun I'd like to know too.

Holland

· #5 · 1 mo ago

Solid stain. Unless you like scraping.

Reactions: 2

Redux

· #6 · 1 mo ago

Black pine tar w/purified linseed oil

Reactions: 4

Vylum

· #7 · 1 mo ago

noffkepaint said:
They are all about the same when it comes to black, but do they resist it decently? I’m worried that the stain will fade and look terrible within a year or two and then the work has my name on it.

warn them but dont talk them out of it, recommend a freshen up coat every other year $$$

RH

· #8 · 1 mo ago

Is she a Stones fan?

Reactions: 1

mkstone88

· #9 · 28 d ago

You can go with a black stain if they are ok with the maintenance. It should be stained every 3 years or so. Expert Stain & Seal makes a true black stain as does Wood Defender. If you go the paint route I would use a good wood primer and a higher-end paint with better UV resistance. A solid stain is another option but I have never had great success. I have linked an article below that I wrote about black fence stains. The same info would be true for a pergola.

Is Black Fence Stain Right For You? Get Expert Advice

Tlapaints

· #10 · 27 d ago

Solid stain, tell her it will have to be recoated every other year. Or run away.

jennifertemple

· #11 · 25 d ago

A good quality exterior paint would not fad as quickly as stain, me thinks. I've never tested, personally; I have seen a few houses around here, painted black and I'm pretty sure they do not paint every year.

kmp

· #12 · 25 d ago

I used super deck solid body stain in black on a project several years ago, several buildings and around 70-80 gallons total and have been back several times since and it has held up very well at around 7500 foot elevation. Pressure washed, scrapped and two coats.

Reactions: 1

Seth Adams

· #13 · 17 d ago (Edited)

noffkepaint said:
Hi everyone,

These forums have been invaluable to me so thank you all. Tiny bit of background: worked painting houses in the Kodi nox summer from ages 16-32 with a crew. Despite my protests the crew never hired younger guys and when they all retired within a few years the crew just ceased to be.

Now I’m 35 and have started out on my own. As the most junior member of the old crew I pretty much was never involved with choosing products, so despite having technical ability I’m a bit ignorant in regards to choosing the right product for certain applications.

Anyway now that the unnecessary information is out of the way:

A prospective client contacted me wanting her pergola painted flat black. I advised against this, as I’ve seen flat exterior paint of all colors fail after a few years of full UV exposure. Even if the paint didn’t fail, it certainly would fade. I believe a semi-solid stain is the best choice, but client wants it to be truly black, not a sort of chocolate brown.

What product (brand specific) would you use for this application, mainly focusing on fade resistance? Previous coating is water-based semi-solid stain.
Thank you all for your wisdom.
View attachment 115449
View attachment 115450

One brand that is known for its high-quality exterior paint products is Benjamin Moore. They offer a range of paint options suitable for outdoor applications. For your specific requirement, Benjamin Moore's Aura Exterior Paint would be a good choice.

RH

· #14 · 16 d ago

Seth Adams said:
One brand that is known for its high-quality exterior paint products is Benjamin Moore. They offer a range of paint options suitable for outdoor applications. For your specific requirement, Benjamin Moore's Aura Exterior Paint would be a good choice.

Sounds like an ad. Are you a rep by any chance?

Reactions: 2

jennifertemple

· #15 · 16 d ago

RH said:
Sounds like an ad.

I do that about my AMEX CC card! People tell me I sound like advertising. (They treat me better than any other corporation I deal with!!) However, where CS is concerned, I've yet to find another paint company that can hold a candle to BM!

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