In this post I walk through the exterior summer lineup from Sherwin‑Williams, based on a conversation I had with Melissa McKenna (Sherwin‑Williams City Sales Rep Manager on Vancouver Island). If you’re a painter or homeowner planning exterior work this season, you’ll find product recommendations, prep priorities and design tips for Hardie board, comb‑face pine trim, cedar shakes, stucco and concrete garage floors.
Quick overview: what to remember before you start
- Prep matters most: several times in the conversation the mantra was clear — “prep, prep, prep.” Expect about 80–85% of a successful exterior job to be preparation.
- Match product to substrate: concrete‑based siding, softwoods and stucco all need different primers/topcoats.
- Offer good/better/best: give clients options (A100 vs. Locks On vs. Emerald Rain, for example) and explain tradeoffs: cost, durability, self‑cleaning benefits.
New Hardie (fiber cement) siding — primers and topcoats
Hardie (fiber cement) is, at its core, a concrete board. That means you should start with a masonry primer designed to bond to cement and allow moisture transfer. Melissa recommends Loxon concrete & masonry primer as the first step: it provides a proper bond and prevents long‑term discoloration at joints where moisture can collect.
Topcoat options:
- Locks On self‑cleaning masonry coating — premium option with a self‑cleaning finish. The coating forms an inverted drying profile so dirt and bird droppings rinse away more easily after rain. Great where maintenance and appearance matter. More costly, but excellent for high‑visibility applications.
- A100 100% acrylic — a reliable mid‑grade system builders frequently use. More affordable and now available in lower sheens and lusters to better match Hardie’s typical matte/low‑sheen look.
If the boards are pre‑primed (pre‑dipped) you may not need primer. A quick water test—splash a little water and see if it beads or soaks in—will tell you if the siding was primed at the factory.
Comb‑face pine trim — primer and sheen guidance
Comb‑face pine trim is porous, especially at raw cut ends. For best long‑term performance use an oil‑based alkyd blocking primer rather than a water‑based primer. Melissa recommends Extreme Block (alkyd primer & sealer) to stop edge swelling and give superior grip on raw wood cuts.
Topcoat and sheen guidance:
- Trim typically benefits from a higher sheen for durability and cleanability—semi‑gloss is common. It resists scratches, cleaning and moisture better than flat sheens.
- That said, design trends are flexible: flat bodies with eggshell or satin trim are becoming popular. If longevity is the top priority, choose semi‑gloss or low luster on trim with satin/low sheen on body.
- If the rest of the house uses A100, a matching trim topcoat will blend well; for refreshed, weathered wood the Duration line (mentioned later) is a strong choice for brightening and adhesion.
Restoring cedar shakes — options and reality check
Cedar shakes that were originally treated with a semi‑transparent stain are one of the most challenging projects. If the finish is burnt off in places, you have two main routes depending on budget, timeline and expectation:
- Strip back to bare wood and match the original:
- Test for oil vs. water stain with mineral spirits. Often it’s ambiguous, so the safest route is complete removal.
- Melissa recommends SuperDeck deck & siding remover to take the coating down to bare wood, followed by careful rinsing and drying.
- Once bare, bring a sample to Sherwin‑Williams for a precise color match.
- Accept a different approach (less prep) and go with a solid or hybrid stain:
- WoodScapes polyurethane semi‑transparent stain — a water‑based polyurethane stain that’s more forgiving, good for homeowner application and allows for a two‑coat approach to build consistent coverage.
- SuperDeck hybrid oil stain (solid stain) — a hybrid oil solid stain that gives a richer look and deeper protection; good if you can’t fully restore the semi‑transparent appearance or want longer durability.
Practical prep tip: for horizontal shakes, use a stiff scrub brush with the cleaner and then rinse thoroughly. If you’re only restoring two sides and trying to match the rest of the house, stripping and color‑matching is the best route to avoid visible differences.
Painting stucco — bridging cracks without killing texture
Older stucco often shows hairline “spider” cracking and chalking, particularly where water concentrates (downspouts, eaves). The traditional reflex is to grab an elastomeric coating, but Melissa cautions elastomerics can be too thick and change the original stucco profile.
Product recommendations by crack size:
- Hairline cracks (true hairline): SuperPaint Exterior (low luster) or Emerald Rain Refresh. Both are acrylics that go on thinner and will bridge hairline cracks while preserving stucco texture.
- Cracks larger than the edge of a credit card: consider a thicker masonry coating, such as Loxon Masonry XP, which has greater build and crack‑bridging capacity without the heavy profile of full elastomerics.
Emerald Rain Refresh and Locks On self‑cleaning products offer dirt‑shedding, self‑cleaning benefits; after a rain they help the wall look freshly painted longer—useful for light‑colored stucco that attracts dirt.
Garage and concrete floors — industrial strength options
Concrete floor coatings are all about prep. For a garage floor with oil stains and regular car traffic Melissa’s advice:
- Mechanically grind/diamond‑grind the slab to create a profile and remove contaminants. Don’t skip this—grinding creates the mechanical bite needed for adhesion.
- Rinse and allow to dry 3–5 days. Acid‑etch to dissolve remaining particulate and increase profile, then rinse and dry again.
- For heavy‑duty industrial performance use the Armor Seal 1000 HS (solvent/epoxy style industrial product). Melissa notes it’s what they use in warehouses and airplane hangars. Typical approach: thin the first kit by about 10% to act as a primer/penetrating bond coat, then apply the full top coat within the specified recoat window (6–8 hours depending on product).
For a homeowner cosmetic upgrade, an acrylic porch & floor enamel with decorative flakes can work well and is easier to apply. Melissa recommended the homeowner options too while stressing the importance of prep and cure time (a month of curing for best results if possible).
Products that help during shoulder season or when conditions are risky
Two Sherwin‑Williams lines with moisture‑tolerant / “moisture lock” technology are:
- SuperPaint — moisture lock, can be painted at lower substrate temperatures and is useful in spring/fall shoulder months.
- Resilience — another product known for moisture tolerance and application at lower temperatures.
Melissa points out these can be applied down to roughly 1.6°C (about 35°F) substrate temperature, which extends workable painting windows in cooler coastal climates.
Design tips, color tools and matching advice
Practical design & color workflow advice Melissa and I covered:
- Start with inspiration — short clips (TikTok/Instagram) or photos are great for ideas. Bring those images to your paint rep and ask for lighter/darker variants.
- Order big color chips — sign up at mysw.com and order the 8×11 color samples (free). Larger samples reveal undertones and help you visualize adjacent walls and changing light.
- If stuck between two similar tones, choose the lighter one — it’s far easier to darken a color in the store than to lighten a too‑dark tint later.
- Use Sherwin‑Williams tools — MySW (mysw.com) has the ColorSnap visualizer so you can upload photos and try different color combinations. Professional color‑matching tools (ColorSnap and third‑party apps like NYX Color Grab) let you scan existing colors and generate close matches.
- Pop of color for the door — Melissa loves bold accent doors and colors that bring a “wow” factor. Don’t be afraid to trust your gut if a bold choice suits the home.
“If you’re stuck between two colors my advice would be to go for the lighter color… it’s easier to make a lighter color darker than the other way around.”
Recommended product cheat‑sheet
- Hardie / fiber cement siding: Loxon Concrete & Masonry Primer → Locks On self‑cleaning masonry coating (premium) or A100 acrylic (mid‑grade).
- Comb‑face pine trim: Extreme Block Alkyd Primer → Duration or A100 topcoat; semi‑gloss for durability.
- Cedar shakes: SuperDeck remover + WoodScapes polyurethane semi‑transparent (water‑based) or SuperDeck hybrid oil/solid stain if you accept a solid look.
- Stucco: SuperPaint Exterior (low luster) or Emerald Rain Refresh for self‑cleaning; Loxon Masonry XP for larger cracks.
- Garage/concrete floors: Grind → acid etch → Armor Seal 1000 HS (industrial two‑part) or acrylic porch & floor enamel with decorative flake for homeowner projects.
Final thoughts and next steps
Plan ahead, use the right primer for the substrate, and make prep your priority. Sherwin‑Williams offers a wide range of products (good/better/best), and the local store and reps are a valuable resource for product selection and technical guidance.
If you want to explore colors, order the large color chips from MySW (mysw.com) and try the ColorSnap visualizer — it really helps when planning exterior palettes and trims. And if you’re a painter, build a relationship with your rep — they can save you time, labor and costly mistakes by recommending the right product for the job.
Thanks for reading — I hope these recommendations help you choose the right Sherwin‑Williams products for your exterior projects this summer. Happy painting!
