A Closeup Look at Sherwin-Williams Latitude Paint
Just how good is Sherwin-Williams Latitude? With the advancements in modern exterior paint, it’s hard to select a bad product, or is it?
Of the US paint manufacturers, Sherwin-Williams continues to lead the production of exterior paints specific to your needs. However, multiple paint options can create unnecessary complexities, lessening the buyer’s experience by making it more convoluted and challenging to make a confident purchase.
Sherwin-Williams has discontinued several exterior paints and introduced Lattitude, which combines the best characteristics of each. Away with Resilience, and here we introduce Lattitude Exterior.
While some painters see the transition from Resilience to Latitude more as a lateral move, we will cover the seemingly subtle improvements and explain how massive the changes actually are!
This review will not be a direct comparison between the two – instead, we will dive deep into the pros and cons of applying Sherwin-Williams Lattitude paint.
Lattitude and How it Covers
With so many paint color options that will inherently cover better than others, the best and only way to test how well a house paint covers is by testing it without adding colorant.
This product line’s stock “Extra White” base covers comparably to other Sherwin-Williams exterior paints. If you have read our past SW reviews, you know that lack of pigment has been a long-standing gripe. So, for the sake of moving forward, we will digress on that topic.
Latitude covers nicely, considering its low dried thickness (AKA millage). The message’s sentiment is that it could use more titanium dioxide, but not to its detriment.
If you spray Latitude paint, you should have little to no issues with coverage.
What We Notice While Spraying Lattitude
As mentioned earlier, Sherwin-Williams Latitude Exterior is slightly thinner than most other offerings. But before jumping into the bash wagon, we looked at the raw material profile on the side of the bucket, which was a pleasant surprise.
Latitude makes single-person siding spraying easy!
Latitude contains acrylic polymers primarily. So, this product contains fewer fillers and doesn’t have high volumes of vinyl polymers. Regarding durability, this is an advancement we have not seen since the introduction of Emerald Exterior.
As professional painters, we understand that acrylic paint naturally applies thinner. So, a thinner viscosity is no real alarm. Regarding usability and sheen, Lattitude has a few characteristics that applicators should understand.
First, Latitudes in satin finishes offer less luster than other comparable SW products. Secondly, it resists sheen flashing (uneven shine) over dull surfaces.
Of many additional mentions, the final noteworthy mention is although Latitude sprays thinner, it doesn’t produce excessive overspray. Two coats of Lattitude on siding walls should provide a lasting and durable finish.
How Sherwin-Williams Latitude Brushes
Since we already covered Latitudes’ coverage, the only sensible way to explain how Sherwin-Williams Lattitude applies when using a brush is to highlight how it lays flat. One of the most significant challenges with glossy exterior paints is brushmarks.
Brushing large exterior surfaces using SW satin or gloss paints has long been a challenge – it just has never turned out great. While Lattitude lays flatter than other SW exterior paints and is almost there, we won’t recommend hand-brushing large walls such as siding with this paint.
On the other hand, the advancements in how flat it lays are noticeable. Lattitude offers improved sheen uniformity and fewer brush strokes for trim, doors, shutters, and dark exterior colors. An experienced painter could make a quick brush to dark-colored shutters look outstanding using Latitude.
Dirt Collection
Finally, Sherwin-Williams listens to its customer base and mitigates dirt collection issues. While the acrylic formula limits elasticity, it resists the collection of dirt, which is an essential and much-needed improvement.
So, rain splashback onto painted brick houses, siding, or trim surfaces no longer appear like dirt magnets. Dirt now rolls off surfaces due to the paint film drying less sticky. Consequently, light-colored exterior surfaces appear cleaner for longer with Sherwin-Williams Latitude.
Using Latitude For Trim Paint
We couldn’t mention trim paint without revealing another one of Latitude’s advancements. Years ago, the only resolve SW offered for sticky accent areas such as front doors were high-gloss enamel sheens. Now, with Latitude’s use of enhanced acrylic polymers, front doors are less sticky, and you are no longer forced to paint surfaces in gloss finishes to resolve dirt or weather stripping sticking to a painted door.
Depending on the level of quality you are looking for, Latitude makes a much improved trim paint compared to Super Paint & A-100. With a combination of Latitude and one of these products for exterior walls, Lattitude would make an exceptional trim paint.
But when compared to Duration or Emerald Exterior, Latitude falls short. So, as we usually recommend products that offer superior performance, we will have to shortlist Lattitude and say it’s a high-performing siding, wall, or brick paint that will not disappoint.
While an overachieving trim paint Lattitude is not, there are undoubtedly lower-tier products to avoid.
It Combines the Properties of Resilience & Flex Temp
Like Resilience, Latitude does not suffer from surfactant leaching. When painting either light or dark colors with the projection of evening storms, painters can confidently continue coating the exterior of a house without the worry of the paint’s premature exposure to rain, causing water spots within the finish.
As high humidity persists in more US states for extended periods, moisture resistance is an increasingly critical factor for exterior house painting. Dark colors are also highly prone to surfactant leaching, and as dark colors outside homes become more desirable, products solving this issue become more important.
Painters who don’t understand how to chase the sun on hot summer days are notorious for complaining about fast-drying exterior paints causing unsightly lap marks. So, in many ways, Latitude is an exterior paint for dummies.
But on a more serious trajectory, Latitude offers the ease of accomplishing a uniform paint film in hot and cold conditions. This quality has been handed down first-hand from SW Flex Temp, yet another discontinued product.
Is Latitude Worth Getting Excited About?
While painters are known to hate changes, especially in paint products, and typically take a while to become accustomed to them, in short, the answer is yes. While painters are likely now numb to SW name changes, the improvements are not only welcomed but were needed.
Combining performance advantages into one product undoubtedly simplifies the buying process and, arguably, more importantly, makes paint application much more straightforward.
People are naturally inclined to choose more straightforward products, especially when they make the task more accessible and improve outcomes. For exterior painters, Latitude does just that!
Want to see Latitude Paint in action? Visit our social media pages to view some of our exterior painting projects.
