Exterior gloss paint - any recommendations?

[Brava21]

Morning all

I'd like to put a coat of paint on a few outdoor surfaces...my garage door (metal, already painted, but could use a freshen up) and the eaves and gutters/downpipes to the side of the garage (a combination of wood and plastic, again already painted but would look so much better for another coat).

Everything I'd like to paint is already painted black gloss, which looks good (against white painted walls) and which I am going to stick with.

My first question - with apologies if it's a daft one - is, can I use the same gloss paint on all of these different surface types? I have confused myself with a quick trip to B&Q (which sold specialist garage door paint alongside other cans of exterior gloss) and a browse on the Screwfix website, which seemed to have even more products. I've no idea what product(s) might have been used previously btw, as we've not lived here that long, but it's clearly a gloss finish on all surfaces.

And my second - does anyone have any recommendations for product(s) that they like using? I noticed on the Screwfix site that for a lot of their products on sale, reviews were very mixed indeed, so I thought it better to ask actual people who know far more about this than me for recommendations for suitable paint(s).

Many thanks in advance for any pointers!

Brava

[wydffa]

I just use the same ordinary Leyland trade exterior gloss, important of course to lightly sand all surfaces first. I am following my Dad's advice who retired as a painter & decorator aged 80.

[MikeyWorld]

I've just painted some garden planters with Dulux Weathershield Black Gloss, it's weird water based stuff that dries plasticky.

I used it because I had it. It was £4.50 / litre in the B&Q bargain bin.

The only stuff I buy in B&Q is in the bargain bin. I've just seen the same methylated spirit that I bought in Home Bargains for £1.20 being sold for £4.37.

YouTube will have loads of builders explaining what is best.

[supremetwo]

I just use the same ordinary Leyland trade exterior gloss, important of course to lightly sand all surfaces first. I am following my Dad's advice who retired as a painter & decorator aged 80.

Which is oil-based.

Avoid water-based - needs frequent re-painting on outdoor items - a gift to the painting and decorating trade.

[stewamax]

If your garage door has any bare metal showing or paint blisters, the metal (probably galvanised steel) needs an etching primer before painting. The 'Direct to Galvanised' paints are a primer / undercoat / (and perhaps) top-coat all in one, but if you want to use one brand and colour of paint, I would use a separate etching primer on metal where needed.
Painting galvanised metal with ordinary paint - even a good-quality ordinary primer - merely results in great sheets of paint coming loose after a year or so.

As regards exterior top-coats, I have had good experience of solvent-based Dulux Weathershield and Johnstone's Exterior Gloss - applied in two or more thin coats with ample drying time between (thick single coats are a false economy and are prone to blistering).

[Sobraon]

Traditional Dulux solvent based gloss from a Dulux decorators centre, I remember reading somewhere that paint from the big DIY shops may be a different formulation. I very much prefer regular gloss to non-drip and I will not use water based exterior paint.

For metal I use Hammerite (smooth?) although you will need Hammerite thinners (expensive), but Xylene works OK (a lot cheaper from Ebay). Treat yourself to some nice new brushes for the gloss (the Hammerite brushes will not be reusable), I got a set of Prodec Craftsman from Toolstation this week which I used this afternoon and they seem good and competitively priced.

[bungeejumper]

Agree with just about everybody so far! Especially about avoiding water-based paint, which just isn't up to the weather in Britain where water comes out of the sky. Fortunately the available range of oil-based colours is better than the DIY sheds would have you believe. Get theeself to a specialist supplier, and you can have any colour you want in oils.

That said, I would think that DIY shed Dulux Weathershield would be OK if it's in black. We use white Weathershield on all our doors and windows, and it's as tough as they say it is. Can be tricky to dry on a cool day, though, and I find that it's rather prone to sagging unless you apply it in very, very thin layers.

Hammerite plain gloss is great - it's a different solvent, I think, and it dries almost too fast, which is the opposite problem. Not sure I'd want to paint a whole garage door in it, because it would be difficult to get an unblemished finish. Deffo agree that cleaning brushes after using Hammerite is strictly for the birds - it can be done, but you'd have wrecked the environment with all the thinners you'd used, so my ex-Hammerite brushes just go straight in the bin.

BJ

[88V8]

Bedec MSP gets recommended. It's water-based, but it does get recommended. I've used it, not as bad to apply as some water paints. Dunno about durability as yet. For water paints use a synthetic brush.

Oil gloss - Sikkens AZ Rubbol. Reassuringly expensive. And durable.

On anything south-facing stick to light colours or the thermal gain will kill the paint.

Obviously, wash the existing paint with sugar soap, and rub down to make a good key.

V8

[Brava21]

Thank you all so much for your help! That was just what I was looking for, and I really appreciate you all taking the time to reply. More research and double checking of formulations needed, but I feel a bit more confident now. Thanks again!

Brava