What is Masonry Paint Used For?
Masonry paint is a common paint that most of us will be familiar with. But what is masonry paint actually used for? And what are its benefits? Let’s have a look and find out.
Decorative
One of the main uses for masonry paint is simply decorative. Probably the most common use is painting the exterior of homes to give them a fresh appearance, just like you would with walls inside your home.
There doesn’t have to be any special reason to paint the exterior of your house with masonry paint, although it does have lots of benefits, other than just waiting to change the look.
A nice fresh coat of masonry paint can almost work like getting tired old stone sandblasted, just at a much cheaper cost.
The same applies to garden walls and other masonry surfaces. they can all benefit from a coat of masonry paint to cheer them up a little.
Killing Mould And Algae
One use of masonry paint that not everyone will be familiar with is that most masonry paints actually kill mould and algae and stop it from growing on the outside of the paint.
This is because they almost always contain a fungicide and heribicide to kill this growth. This is also what makes them unsuitable for use on the inside of homes.
So if you have a problem where your exterior walls keep going green and slimy then maybe masonry paint could be the solution?
Water Barrier
Masonry paints are nearly always waterproof, in fact, if the one that you are buying isn’t waterproof then I would consider swapping it out for one that is.
Waterproofing brick and stone can be a great way to prevent leaks from troublesome areas. Some stone and brick are actually not that watertight, counter to what you may think.
In areas where it is constantly battered by water, either due to being in an exposed location or having a faulty drain drip on it, it can start to penetrate and enter your home.
This can lead to damp patches on walls that just won’t seem to budge or in some circumstances full-on watermarks all over your walls.
Masonry paint can be part of the solution to fixing issues like this, providing a fully waterproof barrier over porous stone. While doing this though it is still breathable, helping avoid issues that can arise from completely covering brick and stone.
I say part of the solution as problems like this usually need a fully holistic approach to properly fix them. just slapping some paint on stone is unlikely to fix a large problem, but it can be a key part of the solution.
Dirt Resistance
A lot of the more popular masonry paints also include some dirt resistance. What this means is that dirt is much less likely to stick to the paint as it is to the bare masonry.
This can mean the exterior of your home can look a lot fresher and cleaner for longer. This can be particularly important for people who live near busy roads where the dirt from passing traffic can soon have masonry looking dirty and tired.
The dirt should in theory not stick well to the masonry paint. Allowing it to simply be washed off every time it rains. And living in the UK we won’t have to wait long for that opportunity, will we?
Conclusion
So I hope I have given you lots of information on potential uses for masonry paint and why you might want to use it.
It can be purely for decoration, or maybe waterproofing, dirt proofing or for its built-in herbicide to kill mould and algae.
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