Zinsser Allcoat exterior satin water-based is suitable for interior and exterior use on many surfaces such as wood, metal, masonry, concrete, cladding and plastic. The adhesion qualities of this product are outstanding, eliminating the need for a separate primer. Zinsser Allcoat exterior satin is available in white, black or a handful of tints. The sheen level is around 40% which is standard for and satin, but this varies depending on the colour.
Zinsser Allcoat is touch dry after 30 minutes and recoatable after an hour, meaning you can easily apply multiple coats of paint in a day. Like any other water-based product, Zinsser Allcoat exterior satin does take a while to fully cure and go hard (around a week).
You can order this product from Dulux and Johnstone’s decorating centres; however, Crown decorating centre carries white and black it in stock, so if you’re in a rush you may be better going there. You can also order Zinsser Allcoat Exterior satin online from trade websites such as Rawlins Paints.
I asked professional tradesmen from the Decorators Forum UK to give us their views on Zinsser Allcoat exterior satin. This is what they came back with…
Zinsser Allcoat is great gear, water based, can get several coats on in a day, protects well 👍
The solvent-based alternative is great too. Bit sticky to apply, but opacity and overall finish is fanatic.
Zinsser Allcoat was the first water-based multi-surface paint to be taken seriously. The colour is always good, it’s easy to apply the paint, and you can apply more than one coat in a day. Plus, you can go over old oil-based gloss without a primer, which is a real bonus.
Brush marks can be a pain on hot days. The paint seems to dry too quickly, but I think that’s the same with any water-based satinwood.
I haven’t tried it inside yet, but I bet it works.
I’ve only been using Zinsser Allcoat for a year or so now. I always have just a small 1 litre tin on the go. It’s my ‘get out of jail free’ paint, because of the built-in self-primer. Basically, if I’m repairing or replacing any woodwork, I can go straight over the top with this and use it as a quick-drying primer, then apply any water-based paints. Hope that helps 👍🏽
Zinsser Allcoat sprays great. Dries fast, has good opacity and adhesion. Used it on front doors also. This is a shop front we painted.
Zinsser Allcoat great stuff, as mentioned above, multiple coats on in a day. It covers well and dries great. The white isn’t the best for coverage, but the black always performs well. It has the added bonus of being a primer, undercoat and topcoat in one, so you only usually need the one product instead of multiples.
I went back to a job last week where I used Allcoat in black last year on some external windows and has stood up well to the elements. I would defo recommend to anybody to use. Maybe keep a bit of Floterol handy in summer as it can get quite thick in the kettle quite fast.
Excellent stuff and the rapid drying gets you out of a hole when needed. I use Allcoat all the time.
I’ve been using Zinsser Allcoat around 3 years, in white, black & colours. I’ve never had an issue in either, except white can sometimes lack opacity, but that’s to be expected in most paints.
The only downfall I can think of is the rate it dries at can sometimes be too quick, even when temperatures are mild.
But for the most part, the opacity is great, the finish (dependant on the applicator, of course) is very good. Dries rock solid, even after an hour or less.
Sprays fantastically with little effort.
The fact it can be used on multiple surfaces, along with all the other pros, certainly must put it on the shop shelf for any job.
I’ve been using Zinsser Allcoat about 3 years now and absolutely love the stuff. It is my ‘go to’ exterior paint and it goes on almost anything. The white does lack opacity but I get my supplier to add some white tint which helps a lot.
Don’t think I’ll use anything other than Zinsser Allcoat for exteriors now, brilliant to work with and a few coats on in a day easily tougher than oil-based paints when dry and lovely finish, a dream to spray too.
10 out of 10 from me
Great stuff though the coverage on the white is terrible you usually need about 4 coats to get it solid. It’s ok if you’re going over something that’s already white, but colour changes are a nightmare.
I’ve used Zinsser Allcoat for years, it’s great paint. The white needs 3 coats to cover, but love it! The overall finish and performance is brilliant.
Zinsser Allcoat is a fantastic product. A tad expensive, but the adhesion is fantastic, you can apply it to multiple surfaces and the finish is awesome. I would highly recommend this product to anyone.
Zinsser Allcoat is one of the best water-based paints you can use on an exterior. You can use it on anything, masonry, soffit and fascia boards, doors, windows, anything! Great opacity, good flow, awesome adhesion, AND you can apply multiple coats in a day, what’s not to love??
The best thing about Zinsser Allcoat is you can rely on it. You know it’s going to last. Normally, if you’re using a water-based coating over oil, you get worried about adhesion. I’ve been using Allcoat for years now and regularly revisit jobs I’ve completed in years gone by. There are never any adhesion issues, and it always lasts well.
One thing I will say, although you can apply multiple coats of this product in a day; it takes around a week for Zinsser Allcoat to cure and toughen up. This can be a pain if you’re painting doors, because at some point they will need to be closed. Just go gentle with them for a while. Brush marks can be a pain too, as it can with any water-based satin.
One of the best exterior trade products on the market. The finish can be a little stringy, especially on a hot day. I think this is true of any water based products though. This stuff dries fast, looks fantastic and lasts for years. I would highly recommend.
Terrible stuff, dries too fast even when thinned . The rest of the comments must work for company cauce it’s bullshit comments.
I’ve used Zinnser all coat today for the first time after being sent a free sample to trial. I’ve spent a small fortune over the last few years, trying different manufacturers water based paints, looking for something that resembles oil based in term of finish. I am currently using Andura titanium which was the best I could find at the time. As of today my go to paint will be the Zinnser, it’s outstanding for a water Bourne paint. I dug out an old soft natural bristle brush I had lying around which I knew would fair better than synthetic when I saw the consistency. I worked a tad quicker than usual knowing how quick it can dry. Despite the comments on opacity one coat and it was brilliant white. I did apply a second coat but only out of a sense of duty rather than need. Simply an excellent product and no chucking out brushes after one attempt like you do with Johnstones aqua.
Well I don’t work for the company and 3 years ago I painted a brown frame inside and out and brown outer windowsills it still looks absolutely fabulous you just need to put the work in
Totally agree the water based paint is as thin as piss shit 4 coats on fresh wooden stairs and I can still see through it. Much better experience with the oil based version
Just a home diyer but used allcoat for the first time on some previously badly painted fibreglass outside coving,after a quick rub down and rinse the allcoat went on a treat. Two coats where enough. Yes,you do have to be quick as it does dry on the brush if you are to slow but anything up to an hour is long enough to not cause any problems. Pretty impressed myself.
It flaked off exterior plywood in a sheltered area after 3 months, re-sanded and painted again, same result. Also gradually reacts with a few brands of sealant making a sticky mess.
I wouldn’t buy it again its very expensive for something so unreliable.
We just used it to paint the exterior of our garden room, and we were impressed: https://youtu.be/uDZ72LtpJWs
Just used white allcoat on a brown upvc window and sill. Really surprised how good it was, after three coats it looks tremendous.
Use Allcoat all the time, painted a block of houses in black satin 2years ago. went to check on the job a few weeks ago and was happily surprised how well it still looks and no paint fade.
My wife and i were about to replace our composite door because we did not like the colour when i was told about Zinsser allcoat, well i went ahead and bought RAL 7016 anthracite grey.
Firstly lightly sand the door and then clean with methylated spirits.
Two coats are perfect but because i had plenty of paint i gave the door 3 coats all in one day the satin finish is amazing, people keep saying we love your new door
I have recently purchased Zinsser Allcoat Satin Black and Satin White for a lighting restoration project. So far I have applied with Flat Fitch Brush and achieved high quality finishes. I recommend using a good quality brush cleaner to keep brushes in good condition (using water and detergent was not good enough). So, that’s all good for the smaller components within the project. The next phase will include larger components which would suit a spray finish to achieve a high quality finish for our client. I have never used a spray gun with this product and I am not sure if it should be thinned? If you have applied this product with a Spray Gun your comments would be appreciated.
Can anyone recommend an alternative; simply because I cannot! get the tinted version in Ireland (can get it delivered if I want to pay 80 quid for 2.5l!).
It’s for external concrete windowsills.
Could one use Zinsser Allcoat just as the primer and then paint over it when it has hardened with an oil-based gloss topcoat? I don’t have any conventional primer and don’t want to have to buy a tinful just for a small job.
I have bought black to do cherrywood plastic window frames, is it better to use a brush or a small roller please.
I;ve just bought a tinted white matt 5 ltr tin of All coat. Very excited after reading about product that it would let the natural materials of my Victorian bay window ‘breathe’ and tested on a few areas. Very disappointed it’s so thin and drippy. Can’t imagine it could work as a primer let alone topcoat. Feel like it will take many coats for an even finish. It just didnt cover old marks on the existing white masonry paint.
What kind of filler should l use under zinsser primer ?
Really disappointed with this
Zinsser product.
I LOVE Zinsser, it has revolutionised up cycling and painting for me, so i was excited to try Allcoat. I was thrilled to see that I wouldn’t need to prime and then folllow with 2 coats of eggshell as I would normally do…just 2 coats of this and the job would be done….or not!
I was painting a bed frame, the coverage was so poor I did 3 coats and whilst the finish isn’t great, I gave up and made do. It’s been in use for 3 weeks and is badly chipped already.
I won’t be using this again!
Several points here – just because you don’t need a primer paint doesn’t mean you can expect to put two coats on and get the same depth of colour. It means you don’t have to buy another can of paint – this product will do everything. All paints have a curing time – being dry and being chemically cured are two entirely different things (all paints have to cure and harden and sometimes this can take a couple of weeks) The surface also needs to be clean and sometimes this means cleaning with methylated spirit or a degreaser first depending on the material (oily woods or contaminated with something). Old furniture particularly can have silicone based furniture polish on it (Mr Sheen type products) this will be like trying to paint a non stick frying pan – not exactly idea (and you have to be very thorough inn cleaning it off)l. I am going to make a massive assumption here – you have painted lots of things before and not had any issues but in this case you were unlucky and because you may not have the specialist knowledge a trained decorator has you have missed some steps that have caused an issue. I hope you don’t take this as criticism – I hope this helps in the future.
Zinnser allcoat Very good exterior product to help combat with tramlines on a hot day try adding a little flotrol to it.