I'm about to take the step of having my second story t1-11 redone in hardi. Two questions: [1] What is the best paint to use (brand and type)? [2] I'm going to have a Home Depot contractor install. Is that ok?

I guess I should also mention I'm in central Florida....Tampa.

As I say every single time I have to paint something, "I'm not a painter!" But I have had good success on HardiPlank with just quality exterior acrylic latex. I've used various brands and the ones with the longer warranties do seem to be better quality but not always worth the added cost, to me. Every painter I know has a favorite paint brand for their own reasons, and several of them seem to waffle back and forth betweeen several of the name brands, but I have had good success with the higher quality store brands which are sometimes half the price of the famous names. I think if I were living in Florida, though, I would go with the best quality name brand paint I could afford and hope for the best. The sun, and especially the great thunderstorms you get in Tampa, tend to beat up paint finishes pretty good.

I've had good success with Home Depot's people but never had any work done by them. I've seen some of their work after the fact and it looked good to me. Their people generally seem to be knowledgeable and helpful, but whether that translates into any sort of craftsmanship I have no idea. I would ask that they prime all the endcuts though, as they install the siding, just so it and the paint will last longer.

I just reread my post and realized I haven't been a whole lot of help, but I'll post it anyway. Maybe I will start an argument among the people here who know more about paint than I do and you can pick up some tips from them!

Good luck!