I am painting the interior of a screened porch. It is unheated, and it has combination windows, so it is dry. One wall is stucco and the other three are painted wood. Can I use the same type of paint on all surfaces? Interior or exterior? I want a flat finish, and I am painting to sell so I don't want the most expensive paint. I am looking for appearance more than anything else.

Also, it is currently painted a horrible shade of mint green. Will I get better results by priming first, or will multiple coats of paint give me the same results? I will be painting it white.

I know you are not supposed to paint below 50 degrees. Do I just need a few hours at that temperature or does it have to be that warm overnight?

Appreciate any advice you can give.

 

You can use the same paint on all of it if you use an exterior latex house paint. That is also assuming the wood is either stained or painted with latex. Oil base paint would require a light sanding and primer.

The temperature of the substrate is just as important as air temp. If the air is 55 degrees but the wood/stucco is only 45 degrees - the substrate needs to get a little warmer before applying the paint. SWP has cold weather technology in some of their exterior latex paints. Their low temp paint can be applied down to 35 degrees. The only catch is it can't get below 35 for 24 hrs after it's applied.

Generally 2 coats of white latex finish paint will cover as good as 1 coat primer and 1 coat finish. Does the existing paint have a sheen? if it does, primer might help a little.

 

Thanks marksr. It is a flat latex now, so I will stick with that. Good point about the temperature of the stucco. Didn't think of that. Guess I will be waiting awhile before I paint.

I will get exterior paint, but just curious what the difference is.

 

A lot of folks don't think about the substrate temperature but it's just as important as air temp. The substrate temp and the air temps during application and drying all play a part on how well the paint job will come out.

Masonry paint is usually just a poor grade of latex paint. Paint will adhere better to stucco than it will wood. I found out long ago that masonry painted with latex house paint will look and last better than if painted with masonry paint. Compared to labor, paint cost is minimal so it almost always pays to buy the best coatings you can afford.