Paint Types
Painting Resources
There is a great variety of paint types to pick out of. Each project has its own special paint needs it is important to select paint that will endure for a long time, and will be easy for you to use. Take time to look over the kinds of paint offered.
Acrylic or Latex Paint
Acrylic paints are acrylic polymer emulsions with colorations suspended within. It dries quickly, and is water-resistant once it is dry. However, while it is still liquid it can be thinned with water. It does well as an exterior paint since it expands and contracts with heat deviations.
Latex is a water-based paint which is most effective on unprimed drywall, unpainted masonry, and areas that were painted with latex or flat oil-based paints before. However, since it is water-based it will not adhere to high-gloss finishes, and it will cause bare iron or steel to rust, raise the grain of raw wood, and peel wallpaper from the wall.
Primer
Primers are made to bind well to surfaces, and create a surface which the finishing paint can adhere to. It also has filling properties either due to its chemistry, or to its physical properties like porosity, tackiness, and hygroscopy.
Textured Paint
There are many kinds of textured paint on the market. Thick and smooth textured paints can be textured after application for the desired effect. There are also textured paints which have granules in the paint to give texture. There are also textured paints which require the addition of sand-like particles or other particle types in order to get the paint ready. Flawed areas can be covered with textured paints to achieve a stucco type finish.
Plain drywall ceilings are often covered with flat-finish latex texture paints since they mask seams and do not need a coat of primer first.
The downside of using textured paint is that more paint is needed during repaints since surface area is increased by the texture.
Eco-Paint (No-VOC or Low-VOC)
No-VOC and Low-VOC are types of eco-paints which are specifically made with few to no volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These VOCs are gases which could have bad health effects, both long-term and short-term. Regular paint generally contains a great amount of VOCs in their diluents. Aside from being great for the environment eco-paints do not smell as bad, are long-lasting, and can be clean easily. There are a variety of Low-VOC paints including:
- Latex (water-based)
- Recycled Latex (water-based)
- Acrylic
- Milk Paint
Milk/ Clay Paint
Milk paint is composited of lime and milk with coloration. It also utilizes borax as a preservative, and also to aid the casein to be dissolved from the milk. It has a short shelf life though, and usually has to be used in one day or else it will go bad. If it is kept refrigerated it could last a bit longer. Due to an increase in green building milk paint has become more popular because it uses natural coloring and is nontoxic.