Outside walls take more punishment than anything inside: hard Highveld UV, summer hail, salt spray at the coast and wind-driven rain in the Cape winter. A good exterior paint is an acrylic made for that job, with UV-stable pigments, a mould inhibitor and enough film to bridge fine cracks. This page covers which outdoor wall paint suits which house, how to prepare the walls and what a 20 litre tin costs. Send one free request and paint shops and suppliers near you will quote you directly, with no obligation to buy.
Choosing exterior paint for walls
- Standard exterior acrylic: for sound plaster on most houses inland. Matt hides patchy plaster; low sheen sheds dirt and is easier to wash.
- Coastal or high-durability acrylic: more binder and better pigments for salt air, strong sun and long rainy seasons. Worth the extra cost on north and west walls and near the sea.
- Elastomeric coating: a thick, stretchy film that bridges hairline cracks and keeps out wind-driven rain. It will not hide or fix structural cracks.
- Textured coating: for rough or patched plaster; see textured paint.
Preparation decides how long it lasts
Most outdoor paint fails because of what is underneath it. Wash the walls, often with a pressure washer, and let them dry. Scrape off flaking paint and rub down chalky areas until a palm comes away clean, then seal them with a primer or binder. Rake out and fill cracks. Brush off efflorescence, the white salts on plaster, and find where the water comes from. Let new plaster cure fully, often about four weeks, or ask your painter. Do not paint in rain, on damp walls or on a wall baking in full afternoon sun.
Waterproof exterior wall paint: what it can and cannot do
Exterior acrylics shed rain, and elastomeric coats go further by staying flexible over fine cracks. But no paint stops water rising from the ground or leaking through a parapet, a sill or a broken gutter. Rising damp needs a damp course repair, and leaks need fixing at the source. Painting over a damp wall traps moisture, and the new coat blisters. For parapets and flat roofs, a proper waterproofing system works better: see waterproof paint and waterproofing.
Exterior paint price and coverage
A 20 L tin of exterior acrylic costs about R850 to R2,200, and a 5 L tin about R300 to R600, depending on the grade. Data sheets give about 7 to 9 m² per litre per coat on smooth plaster, less on rough plaster or face brick. Two coats is normal. A single-storey house with 150 m² of outside wall therefore needs roughly 33 to 43 litres, so two 20 L tins and often a 5 L tin. Cheaper tins often need a third coat, which closes much of the gap with premium paint.
What to include in your request
- Outside wall area in m²
- Inland or near the coast
- Plaster, face brick or old painted walls
- Colour and finish, matt or low sheen
- Cracks or damp patches to deal with
Exterior Paint for different clients
- Homeowners: a weather-proof coat for the house walls, boundary wall and garden walls
- Landlords and sellers: a hard-wearing neutral exterior that keeps a rental or sale property looking cared for
- Body corporates and estates: the same colour and grade across every block, ordered for the whole repaint
- Shops, offices and restaurants: shopfronts and office walls that stay clean and keep their colour longer
- Factories, farms and mines: factory, warehouse and farm building walls that face sun, dust and rain
- Builders and developers: exterior acrylic and primer on new plaster, ordered per house or per phase
- Schools, churches and public buildings: durable paint for school, church and clinic walls with long gaps between repaints
- Painters and contractors: exterior grades in 20 L tins, tinted to the client's colour and delivered
Frequently asked questions
What is the best exterior wall paint for South African weather?
Can I use interior paint outside?
Which outside walls fade fastest?
How do I get exterior paint quotes?
Exterior Paint by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg