Greetings everyone. We hired a painter to paint our house and we have been busy trying to select colors for the paint. The carpentry has started.

While I was talking to the painter today to get his opinion on Aura vs Duration paints for dark colors, he said my siding is being stained using 2 coats of BM Arborcoat Solid and not painted. He did say stain should work better because paint peels. He said Duration tends to peel.

This was news to us. In fact, I did not know much if anything at all about painting vs staining.

So we started doing some research. We were able to get some info on stain vs paint (pros and cons) and have some questions:

1) The durability of the coat is important to us. We want it to protect my siding. And based on everything I am reading paint tends to outlast stain and also protects the wood better against the elements. 10 years vs 3-5 years?? Since durability is the most important criteria to us, shouldn't a highly regarded Duration paint outlast a stain?

2) Preserving the wood grain character is not important to us. In fact I am thinking maybe we prefer smooth finish and maybe even low-luster. However this is not as important as durability or peeling (next point).

3) I am reading that paint tends to peel and stain does not. How immediate is peeling? How sooner or later should I expect to see the peeling? 1 year after the painting, 2? 5? 10? How can peeling be minimized?

4) What is the prep process for painting? How is it different than staining? Does entire exterior need to be sanded and primed? Keep in mind that the previous owner stained it a while back.

5) Some of the reviews online for BM Arborcoat are not particularly good. Should we be concerned? How is SW equivalent product when it comes to staining?

So which is the better option? Paint or stain the siding?

Attaching some photo of the house and siding condition below. Bear in mind that carpentry work has just started and damaged/rotten siding and window trims are being replaced.

I would love some informed opinions. 10k is on the line and we dont want to get it wrong =)

Thank you, thank you!