I'm fully converted to linseed oil paints for exterior joinery.
I was turned on to them by a friend of a friend who does restorative and architectural joinery work for the national trust and the likes.
Over several years I have slowly stripped and repainting all the woodwork on the house with "Kregzdeit" brand linseed oil paint and whilst it's odd stuff to work with, it goes on extremely well, smells lovely when you're working with it, and lasts phenomenally well even in harsh applications.
Properly applied it won't blister or crack and has sufficient flex to move with the wood as moisture content changes through the year. Over 4-5 years the exterior surface goes a bit powdery, but you can wipe it down and apply another coat of oil (from the same manufacturer) to bring it back to full gloss with a single coat.
Supposedly if that's kept up it will last around 20-25 years before repainting is needed… Certainly in the time I've been using it my father has had to fully prep and repaint the windows on my parents house twice whilst mine just soldier on.
What it isn't however is cheap… Big upfront cost at about £85 per 2.5l can for the initial paint, although the Oil for maintenance is cheaper than repainting with conventional gloss by a country mile.
It felt like a gamble going "buy once, cry once" on exterior paint, but does seem to be paying off, would recccomend.
Edited By Jelly on 06/06/2023 18:00:06