It's real question time again.

I'm about to get the House of Ralph here in north Joisey (not on the shore) painted again, for the first time in about 15 years.  It is primarily clad in cedar shingles, with wood trim, and some steel storm sash.  The last paint job was oil; the shingles I installed myself (about 1/4-1/3 of the whole house) were dip-stained before installation.  The balance of the shingles had been painted by previous owners, and much of the old paint is flaking off.  Some of my stained shingles are going bald (after 20 years), but not flaking.

I thought I wanted  alkyd oil (Benj Moore or Sherwin Williams, or a mix) this time around, but the painters have been telling me that oils now are even shittier than they were 15 years ago, and that I should go over to latexes. I am inclined to believe them, but the old fart in me wants to believe there are still decent oils around--but maybe there just aren't. 

One of the painters raves about a new Benj Moore latex paint called Aura, which costs a fortune but he says is very good; an exterior version of it has only recently been added to BM's website.  It's not available in high gloss, only semi, though.  I doubt they make a stain for my shingles, and I sure as hell don't want to paint the shingles that have only been stained.

Anybody had any experience with this BM Aura stuff, or had a credible conversation with one of their tech reps about it?  Anybody got any recent good, bad or indifferent experience with paints?

Thanks.

Ralph

Get trade secrets for amazing burgers. Watch "Cooking with Tyler Florence" on AOL Food.