Painting news

Are oil based paints on the way out?

Some people seem to think so. Like the old lead based paints of long ago, the V.O.C.s (or volatile organic compounds) in oil finishes have raised environmental as well as health concerns for quite a few years now. Also, with the cost of petroleum on the rise, these products are becoming increasingly more expensive to manufacturer.

Left over oil paint is considered hazardous materials waste and needs to be disposed of accordingly. Also the solvents used to thin the paint and clean the tools can pollute the air as well as the ground water.

Left over latex paints can generally be dried out with sawdust, kitty litter or shredded up newspaper and taken away with the trash. (Check with your individual towns for specific regulations)

The good news is that 100% acrylic and waterborne paints are continuing to improve, and with advances in technology, many of them already outperform oil based paints.

For now we still have the option of oil or latex, but the writing’s on the wall and soon enough the oil might not be on the label.

Washable flat interior paint

In the past, the trade off for interior paints was the glossier the paint, the more washable and durable it was but the more you could see the imperfections on the surface. The flatter the paint, the better it would hide those imperfections by diffusing the light but if your walls got dirty, they couldn’t really be washed very clean.

Along comes scrubbable matte finishes. I don’t really know which manufacturer developed these finishes first, but in recent years, most of the major paint companies have come out with their own version of this remarkable product.

These paints offer a flat finish that hides many defects and they’re durable enough to be scrubbed clean when the walls get dirty.

Now, I don’t know of any paint that can be washed clean when your three year old artist gets a hold of a permanent marker and uses your walls for a canvas, but for everyday traffic these paints really seem to hold up quite well.

Paint Quality

It’s not really news, but I believe it’s worthy of mentioning one more time.

When it comes to the quality of product, you do get what you pay for.

Lower quality paints have a lot more water in them, and since water doesn’t cost much, the paint is less expensive. Higher quality paints have a much greater content of paint solids, so when the water evaporates as the paint dries, you’ll be left with a thicker film of actual paint on the surface.

It will resist fading and look better for a much longer time.

If we’re talking about a rental unit that you know you’ll be painting again in a few years, or a house that your just trying to sell, then by all means save a few bucks and buy the cheaper paint. But, if you want that room to look as good as possible for many years to come, spend the extra few dollars now and in 4 or 5 years when you’re not repainting that room again, you’ll be glad you did.

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