A Lifetime Exterior Paint Warranty – Hype or Not?

We’ve all seen the ways manufacturers back up the quality of their products with extended warranties.  “25-year” warranties and “Lifetime” warranties are all over the place.  When it comes to paint, should we really believe that if we use a certain paint when we buy a home when we’re 20 years old that the paint will still look as good as new when we’re 80?

The answer is, in most cases, no.  But in most cases people don’t buy a house at 20 and live in it for the next 60 years.  The main thing to know about warranties in the paint industry is what they really mean and what they don’t.  Here are some guidelines.

Benjamin Moore Lifetime Paint Warranties

Top paint-maker Benjamin Moore has two types of paint – Aura, and Regal Select – that come with a “lifetime limited warranty.”  Like most manufacturers, Benjamin Moore has to add the word “limited” to their guarantee for a variety of reasons.  The most important one has to do with how the paint is applied.

Professional painters will be the first to tell you: If you paint over flaking, unsanded or wet surfaces, your paint job might not last even a week.  Benjamin Moore’s lifetime warranty reads in part:

“If this product fails to perform as explained above when used according to label instructions within the warranty period, Benjamin Moore & Co. will, upon presentation of proof of purchase (original sales receipt), provide an equivalent or comparable product at no charge.” (Emphasis ours.)

On the labels of most quality paints, you’ll find application guidelines covering when to paint, how to paint, what to use in the process, how to prepare surfaces, etc.  The reason most paint jobs don’t last for decades isn’t because the paint is faulty, but rather because whoever put the paint on didn’t know what they were doing.

What lifetime paint warranties guarantee against

But let’s say you hire professionals to paint the exterior of your home, and let’s say they do everything right.  Even in this case, Benjamin Moore doesn’t expect the painted surfaces to look every bit as good 60 years later.  But they’re so confident in the ultra-high quality of their paint (like the Aura and Regal Select brands) that they’re happy to replace the paint under certain circumstances.  The lifetime warranty guarantees that the paint will not:

1. blister from properly prepared and primed surfaces,
2. peel from properly prepared and primed surfaces, and
3. wear down or weather to expose the previously painted surface.

The bottom line with paint warranties is to worry less about the warranty and focus more on how the paint is being applied.  Paints made by Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams and other widely respected manufacturers will last a very, very long time when applied in accord with the best practices known and used throughout the commercial painting industry.  And that’s really all you’re hoping for, right?

If you want the best possible results with your next interior or exterior painting project, call the experts at Franklin Painting of Connecticut at (877) 646-7774.  We’ll get the job done right the first time.

Franklin Painting LLC – Call us Toll Free at 877-646-7774
or at our main office number 860-678-7701
160 Brickyard Road, Farmington, CT 06032

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