Painting Advice and Premium Products from Experienced Professionals.
There are numerous health-related reasons not to use oil based products. We acknowledge some specialized instances where solvent based products are required. In most cases involving home finishes, oil based products generally contribute to early costly failure and inconvenience of use.
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About Oil- based Paint
Oil-based Paints
have long been associated with smoothness, hardness and durability.
Numerous ingredients that gave oil base paint
its durability have been banned or regulated, with
good cause. There are numerous recognized health concerns
related to solvent exposure among workers and homeowners.
Oil-based products
require solvents for cleanup. Paint thinner costs over $6.00 in most markets, and it is a PETROLEUM BASED product. The dirty solvent then
must be disposed of, which, when done properly, is
costly, and inconvenient. Many times dirty solvent
is simply stored, or improperly disposed of. We discourage
the use or storage of painting solvents in the home.
It is a preventable risk, especially if within the
reach of children or pets. Waste thinner on a jobsite can sometimes
be a hazard.
Besides, water is free.
Interior
We observe frequent failure of alkyd (oil) based enamels on interior doors and trim. Most oil based products
have superior performing, environmentally friendly alternatives available.
We strongly encourage the use of water-based paint technology. All interior wood
expands and contracts, and oil based enamel gets much
too hard and brittle, leading to cracks in the finish
within a year or two of painting. Interior oil based
paints continually yellow and harden as they
age, leading to perpetual maintenance as the finish begins to chip and crack in corners.
In summary, Premium
Acrylic enamels will outperform oil-based products
on interior woodwork and doors with respect to performance, cost, dry time, and ease of use.
Exterior
For the exterior, Acrylic house paint will expand
and contract with changes in wood, where oil- based
paint will not.
We frequently see residential customers bearing the cost of preventable paint failures and wood replacement on homes only a few years old, as the result of the continued use of oil based paint.
Alkyd oil-based primers and paints
grow brittle with age, causing them to lose flexibility
and ultimately lose adhesion. Alkyd oil-based primers
and paints are non-breathable, limiting their life
over naturally moisture-containing wood surfaces.
The oils in alkyd oil-based primers and paints are
natural organic materials which serve as mildew food
and actually promote mildew growth.
In general, alkyd
oil-based paints have poor color and gloss retention,
and
often exhibit poor chalk resistance, when compared to top-quality 100% acrylic paints. We highly discourage
the use of oil based paint on most exterior wood.
In summary, top-quality 100% acrylic primers
and paints are clearly more effective than alkyd oil-based
paints in all critical areas of product performance:
wood protection, long-term appearance, durability,
and reduced maintenance.
When coating over
existing oil based paint with acrylic paint, be sure
to follow manufacturers recommended preparation procedures, and
use only
PaintSource Approved Premium 100% Acrylic Finish.
Coronado Paint
Benjamin Moore
