Painting - Ext. Paint or Stain?

I have a Carrier 40AQ which is 20 years old. The drain tubes last week were plugged, so the water from the drip pan leaked onto the ceiling in a bedroom. The technician blew out the tube. Last night there was another leak in the ceiling. There is also a great deal of visible condensation on the bottom of the unit. Is this normal? Our other unit does not have outside visible condensation. We have called the technician again, but what could be the problem?

Recently purchased 5 year old beach house in NC. Original cedar(?) siding was oil-based semi-transparent stained. Previous owner repainted with latex paint over oil stain with no primer. Paint PEELED and previous owner painted again over peeling latex paint with more latex paint and no surface prep. Entire house is peeling and pro painter wants to power wash and spray with semi-transparent stain over siding. My thoughts are to power wash, prime with primer (latex or oil?) and then spray with latex paint. House also needs to be treated for exterior mold. House is peeling so badly that I can't see where staining will "level out" siding appearance as much as a latex paint might even if it is power washed. I have supplied a photo. Any suggestions/ideas would be welcomed.

I moved a copy of your post to DIY Heating and Cooling. You have a better chance for answers there....Mike

carjar, If the power washing takes off all the latex then another coat of semi-transparent stain should work, if it does not remove all the latex, then scraping and sanding is in order to remove the latex or there is no guarantee that it won't come off later. If you do plan on painting it, then you will need to prime with a good quality exterior primer prior to painting.

Since I cannot see or scrape on the house, even with a picture, which isn't here for some reason, it is hard to tell, I would definately suggest getting another well known pro painter to give a second opinion, in any case tell the painters that you want all the latex that will come off, off. Even if that means doing some scraping, wire brushing, etc, after the power washing.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by carjar
[B]Recently purchased 5 year old beach house in NC. Original cedar(?) siding was oil-based semi-transparent stained. Previous owner repainted with latex paint over oil stain with no primer. Paint PEELED and previous owner painted again over peeling latex paint with more latex paint and no surface prep. Entire house is peeling and pro painter wants to power wash and spray with semi-transparent stain over siding. My thoughts are to power wash, prime with primer (latex or oil?) and then spray with latex paint. House also needs to be treated for exterior mold. House is peeling so badly that I can't see where staining will "level out" siding appearance as much as a latex paint might even if it is power washed.

The original builder and pro painter were right and
the previous owner and you are mistaken: stain is
better than paint for cedar siding, mainly because you
can touch up and repair as needed, rather than needing
to strip and prime as for repainting. Beach houses need
more maintenance than those inland: that was why
stain was preferable to paint in the first place.