My house desperately needs an external paint. Some of the timber is bare and is starting to get the black look to it, small proportion of house still has exterior paint affixed to it. A large proportion of house exterior has flaking paint and will lose it altogether if I were to guerny wash the house.

In the short term, completion of my bathroom reno is highest priority.

The house is hardwood chamferboard.

I was thinking of trying to protect the timber, by preparing the house for painting by guernying it, cleaning, sanding where necessary and then asking a painter to only paint the primer/sealer on the timber.

My questions are:

1. Is the primer/sealer adequate in exterior conditions to last for a year without a topcoat or should it be covered ASAP with exterior paint that can withstand harsh Australian summer?

2. Would a painter even be prepared to do just this and if so, would it cost me a lot more in the long term to stage the painting in this way?

3. The latest paint job on the house was very poor quality and looks bumpy and looks like it was done with a spray gun or roller. The original paint job on the house many years ago, seems well fixed. Would the sealer/primer only have to go over the patches of bare timber, or would it have to go over all of the house exterior?

4. Which is better? oil based or water based exterior paints? I want the new paint job to have longevity.

5. Are timber house exteriors usually painted in low sheen paint on the main walls? Sometimes I see timber houses where the paint is so flat, that it makes the paint job look cheaper/older.

6. Which brand of exterior paints are the best? I did hear that for internal walls Taubmans is best, but I have no idea for exterior walls in a sub-tropical climate.

7. Would it be better to get advice from a general colour consultant that is not affiliated with a paint company or is it better to get a general colour consultant to help me determine best paint colours for house. (there is a chance that i may get modern extension on back of 1962 era house and so i want to ensure that colours chosen and blend old and new easily, as well as being limited by an orange terracotta tiled roof. :o( )

Many thanks in advance for you help.