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In this post: Older homes can have a lot of peeling paint if the wood trim has been exposed to the elements. Here’s an easy solution to peeling outdoor paint!
This post was sponsored by Rust-Oleum Consumer Brands Canada. All opinions are as always, our own. See our full disclosures and policies here.
Wood trim on a house is lovely, until it isn’t anymore. Our house is almost 20 years old. That’s a lot of time for our wood trim to be exposed to the elements. Because of this, the outside trim around the front doors, garage door and the porch pillar were in pretty bad shape this spring. But we found an easy solution to peeling outdoor paint – without all the scraping and sanding!
Table of Contents
Our Outdoor Trim Before
So, when we shared our front yard and porch in previous curb appeal posts (like this one and this one), we were careful not to share too many close-ups of the trim. But here’s what it was looking like when all the snow melted this spring…
Not so pretty!
After PEEL STOP® PLUS
Initially we thought we’d have to scrape and sand and do a whole lot of prep work to fix up the trim. But then we found Rust Oleum’s ZINSSER PEEL STOP® PLUS High Build Binding Primer. With low-VOCs, this water-based binding primer is three times thicker than regular primers and locks down and hides peeling, weathered surfaces to create a smooth, white finish for your top coat. Honestly, this stuff is incredible. Just look at the same trim after one coat of the primer – and zero scraping or sanding. (If you’re not yet impressed, scroll down for the finished project!)
See how the PEEL STOP® PLUS seems to have glued down the chipping and peeling. I don’t think I’ve been so impressed with a product in a long time. And that’s saying a lot, because we try a lot of different things!
After Painting Over the PEEL STOP® PLUS
So, the PEEL STOP® PLUS created a beautiful base for our final top coat of outdoor paint. We chose Sherwin Williams Perfect Greige because it best coordinated with our bricks and existing window trim.
Even though they weren’t in as bad a shape as the pillar and garage door trim due to being under the covered porch, we decided to paint the front door trim and the garage ‘man door’ trim as well. (We still need to paint the actual ‘man door’.)
Where to Find Peel Stop Plus®
You can find Peel Stop Plus® at the following locations:
- The Home Depot (US)
- The Home Depot (Canada)
- Amazon (US)
- Amazon (Canada)
What’s Left to Do
We’ve been working on the curb appeal here since we moved in a year and a half ago. We still have a little way to go. Here’s our list of things to do (as of the time of writing this originall), with what’s complete crossed off (just because we love lists!):
update garage doors with faux windows and hingespaint the front doors blackadd plants/shrubs/trees to the neglected gardensadd a number signadd a mailbox (we have a community mailbox for regular post, but this is good for couriers when we’re not home)paint all the wood trimchange door hardwareadd welcome decals to doorsadd extra down spout to eaves troughs to help with overflowadd video doorbell- remove satellite dish we’re not using
- paint the garage ‘man door’
- change outdoor lights
- add a flag
- add another rug to porch
- re-shingle the house (the previous owner redid the front porch garage shingles before we took possession of the house and now we have two tone shingles!)
- add shutters to upstairs front windows
- get the grass weed-free (what a process!)
- take down Christmas lights 😬
I picked up a small Canada garden flag the other day from Michaels, but they didn’t have a hanger/stand for it, so I’m waiting on one from Amazon. I’ve also ordered a rug to go on top of the black one for the layered look, but it didn’t arrive in time for this post. C’est la vie! That just means I get to share some more curb appeal progress with you another day!
Over all, we’re thrilled with how far the front of the house has come since we bought it. And I’m so thankful we didn’t have to scrape and peel all that trim before painting!
More curb appeal
For more of our current house’s curb appeal projects, visit these posts:
- Working on the Curb Appeal Part 1 – Upgrading the Garage Doors
- Working on the Curb Appeal Part 2 – Painting the Front Doors Black (+ Plants)
- Upgrading the Front Door Hardware
- An Easy Solution to Peeling Outdoor Paint
- Curb Appeal 101 – 14 Ideas for Spring Landscaping
To see our previous house’s curb appeal projects, visit these posts:
- Introducing the Curb Appeal Series
- Curb Appeal Series: The Garden
- Curb Appeal Series: The Flagstone Walkway
- Foundation Refacing – How to Cover a Cinder Block Foundation
- Curb Appeal the Big Reveal (at the Bungalow)
- 3 Budget-Friendly Summer Porch Makeover Ideas (at the Backsplit)
Do you have some peeling trim that could use a facelift? What baby steps have you taken/could you take to improve your home’s curb appeal?
Amazing!
Gonna get me some of this product to knock another job off the to do list!!!
i read your letter on peeling paint with great interest.. anything that makes my maintenance easier. my problem is I live by Atlantic ocean and I have rust stains bleeding through my white paint. It is from the nails or deck screws that my late husband used when he rebuild our verandas. I wonder if this sealer would help me with the problem. it makes my house curb appeal ugly.
Hello, Pearl. I think you could use this to “glue down” the peeling paint, and then use one of the Zinsser primers that is formulated for blocking rust stains. Try the Rust Oleum contact form here to ask them specifically what they’d recommend for your situation. 🙂
That looks like almost a “see it to believe it” product….and thanks to you, I was able to see it in action! I’m in!
Could this be used on a porch railing that needs repainting?
Probably! I would make sure to let it cure for the time recommended on the paint can so that you know it will be durable!
Awesome! Thank you for this info. I have the same problem, so I’m going to do this in the spring!
Sounds like a great plan!!
What brand and color of your front door? It looks great!
Hi Laurie,
The doors are painted Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black. ☺️
would the peel top product work on outdoor wood decks that are peeling (stained over 2 years ago
Hi Gerald, I’m not sure. It would likely be best to ask Rust Oleum that question, since we haven’t used it in that instance.
I was shopping online yesterday for some ceiling paint and saw this product, and now that I’ve seen how well it works, I’m going to get some. Thanks!
Awesome! Good luck with it!
Outstanding paint. My quest is….Which type of paint brush did you use?
I don’t remember specifically, but we almost always use Purdy, so it was likely that.
Very Nice! Thank you. I have not heard of this. Can they tint this Peel Stop? If it ever stops raining here, I have to paint my trim. I would like it to go from a peeling to appealing. Pun intended.
As far as I know, no the Peel Stop cannot be tinted. We painted over it with regular paint in the color we love!
Can you provide an update on this project? Wondering how durable it is…do you need to repaint every year?
Hi there, Colleen! By way of a quick update…it has held up quite well. We originally did it two years ago and only just touched up parts of it this weekend. We also used it on the deck and part of the fence this time too. I will try to get an update posted with photos, etc. soon. But the short of it is, we are still really happy with the product and no, ours didn’t need repainting every year.
What is the brand and paint color on the exterior brick?
Hi, Nina. The exterior brick is not painted. That’s the actual color of the brick. 🙂
Where did you get the faux windows and hinges for your garage door?
Hi there, Jo-Anne! The faux windows and faux hinges on the garage doors are from Coach House Accents and we have a whole post about them here: https://homemadelovely.com/curb-appeal-part-1/
I have the same problem with my deck, stained 2 years ago and it’s peeling something terrible, I don’t know what to do, any suggestions?
I’m not sure about over stain. Was it oil-based or water based?
Where can I purchase this paint
Most hardware stores have it I believe. But check here for where it’s available: https://www.rustoleum.ca/product-catalog/consumer-brands/zinsser/primer-sealers-water-based/peel-stop-plus-high-build-binding-primer
Wow, it looks awesome in your pictures! It’s been two years, now, so how is it holding up? Does it still look as good as when you first painted?
Hi Lisa,
I’m working on an update. We live in an area with four very distinct seasons and extreme temperatures. This spring, we re-applied the Peel Stop Plus to the bottom portion of both the pillar and the garage door trim, where it would see the most moisture. Then we painted with the same paint as before on top. It looks almost as good as new. So, it lasted two years, in extreme weather. We also used Peel Stop Plus on our back deck this spring and painted it as well. This obviously will get more wear and use, so we’ll see if it lasts as long. Wood trim outdoors always requires more maintenance than other materials. That’s just natural!
Hope that helps!
Shannon
I love your door. What color and paint brand did you use?
Hi there, it’s Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black!
I’m in the process of painting my porch and it has old peeling paint on it,so all I need to do is buy some Peel Stop Plus.
After I paint it over the old paint and it dry then I can paint the porch.
🙂 That’s what we did. Made sure it was clear of debris like spider’s webs, etc and then used the Peel Stop Plus primer according to the package directions. Then when it was fully dry, we painted over it with outdoor paint that coordinated with our trim and house colors.
Great Find…
Do you suppose I could use this product on a deck?
Well, we used it on our deck last year. And it has bought us some time, but it is not a long-term solution. I can’t see it lasting more than a couple of years. But we also live in Canada and get massive extremes of weather!
Is there a product like this for indoors?
I’m honestly not sure that there is.