What is Masonry Paint? + When You Use Masonry Paint
Masonry paints are acrylic-based paints designed for painting various types of exterior surfaces, including wood, render, brick, stucco, concrete, and stone.
Masonry paint products are available in various colours and range from inexpensive to premium quality – many of which you can purchase at local DIY shops.
I have used hundreds of different masonry paints and formulated this guide to help you understand what masonry paint is and when and where you would use it.
What is masonry paint used for?
Masonry paints have various uses. Exterior masonry are used for coating many different surfaces, including concrete, render, stucco, pebble-dash, metal, brick, stone, and wood. Specifically, masonry paint provides a moisture-resistant layer which makes acrylic masonry paints suited for protecting exterior walls.
Refreshing the exterior of your house with a coat of paint can be an excellent way to boost the appeal of your home. And you can attempt to paint your exterior walls yourself by following our handy guide, making this a DIY project that can increase the value of your property. This is especially true if you are considering selling your house, whereby an attractive exterior could be the difference between making a sale or not.
Is masonry paint waterproof?
Standard acrylic masonry paint is not technically waterproof. However, acrylic masonry paints offer some weather protection because it’s used for painting exterior surfaces. However, the Dulux Weathershield range is a breakthrough in masonry paints and is entirely waterproof resistant.
Therefore, after heavy rainfall, exterior walls painted with standard acrylic masonry products would leave water marks where moisture has entered the surface. In addition, to being waterproof, masonry paint must be breathable. Breathable paint refers to the ability of water to transfer through a paint. For example, if masonry paint is waterproof but not breathable, moisture would not be able to enter the property, it would not be able to escape the surfaces, resulting in damp issues.
Is masonry paint for outside?
Masonry paint is designed exclusively for painting exterior surfaces, such as brick, stucco, concrete, wood, render, and stone. The difference between exterior and masonry paints is that masonry paints are resistant to severe weather conditions and increased levels of wear and tear. Also, acrylic-based masonry paint can bond more effectively with rougher exterior surfaces, unlike the smooth and flat surfaces you are likely to find in the interior of a house.
Therefore, using good-quality masonry paint products to paint the exterior of your property is a fantastic way to protect your walls while achieving a beautiful paint result.
Can you use masonry paint indoors?
The short answer is yes. But the real question is, why would you want to use masonry paint when painting your interior? With excellent indoor paint options, it doesn’t make sense to use exterior paint inside.
Exterior paints contain high volumes of acrylic substances designed to prevent mildew growth on exterior surfaces. When used on walls indoors, this will result in foul odours and severe allergic reactions. Also, masonry paint products contain toxic fumes that can result in serious respiratory problems when used in confined spaces. The difference is that some premium interior paints contain little to no volatile organic compounds (VOC), limiting potentially adverse health effects for individuals – making them suitable for use inside your house.
As a result, for the best results, you should always use outdoor paint for your exterior and interior paint when painting indoor surfaces. Therefore, while it is certainly possible, as a professional decorator, I would advise against it.
Can you use masonry paint on wood?
Yes, it’s okay to use masonry paints for painting wood. In fact, using acrylic-based masonry paint on wooden surfaces is a great way to decorate, protect, and insulate your house.
Coating wooden surfaces with masonry paint products will help insulate the surfaces which results in reduced energy bills while making the surfaces resistant to damp problems and improving the comfort of your home.
However, using exterior masonry paints to coat wood is not a straightforward DIY job. Instead, you must seal and prime the wood before painting to ensure it is resistant to water damage and flaking paint. Since wood is a porous material, if it is not sealed and primed before painting, water can seep through and cause damage to the wood and interior walls.
Can masonry paint be used on metal?
It is possible to paint metal using masonry paint, however, it’s very important that you correctly prepare the surfaces before painting by using a primer first.
However, while it is certainly possible, you would yield better results by using primers and paints specifically formulated for use on metal surfaces.
What masonry paint do we recommend?
There are hundreds of different masonry paints available – many of which can be purchased at your local DIY shop. These acrylic-based masonry paints range from standard to premium and have varying levels of quality.
Dulux Masonry paint
Dulux Weathershield All Weather Protection smooth masonry paint is a unique line of exterior wall paint formulated with Stay Clean technology. As a result, this ensures that the Weathershield coating is resistant to dirt and mould, keeping your surfaces looking fresh for longer.