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How to get the most value from your paint dollars!
If you're planning to pull out your paint brush, you'll have a lot of choices to consider. What type of paint should you buy? Does it really pay to spend extra money for premium paint? What makes one paint better than another? How do you choose the right color? How can you make this paint job last?
As one of the leading raw material suppliers to paint manufacturers for nearly 50 years, Rohm and Haas Company knows what it takes to make quality paint. In 1989, the company founded The Paint Quality InstituteSM to educate people about the advantages of using quality interior and exterior paints and coatings. Before you head for the paint store, check out these tips from the Institute to help ensure the success of your next project.
Quality Paint Begins Here
Rohm and Haas Company's Coatings Business produces five primary types of products for paint manufacturers:
- Opaque polymers are synthetic pigments engineered to provide excellent surface coverage.
- Binders hold the paint together, binding the pigment into a tough, continuous film with desirable characteristics such as durability, stain resistance and washability. They also provide adhesion to the surface being painted.
- Rheology modifiers control the flow of the paint for smoother application.
- Dispersants distribute pigment throughout the paint for even color.
- Biocides control the growth of bacteria, fungi and algae in paint without harm to the environment.
These products are part of the company's Performance Polymers group, a $3 billion business. Some are developed at the company's Spring House Technical Center and manufactured at the Bristol and Croydon plants.
Quality Rules!
Not all paint is created equal. Top quality paints may cost more per gallon, but generally represent the best value.
Four basic components impact the quality of paint: pigments, binders, liquids and additives. Here's what you'll find in most top quality paints:
- More durable pigments that resist chalking and fading.
- Higher levels of hiding pigments that "hide" the underlying surface, providing a nicer finish.
- Higher percentage of binders for maximum adhesion and resistance to blistering, peeling, mildew, dirt collection and alkali.
- Less liquid (paint thinner or water) for better hiding and durability.
- More additives to provide excellent flow and leveling, spatter resistance and mildew resistance.
Finish the Job Faster
With high-quality paint, you'll finish the job faster. The paint will go on with less brushing and re-touching and fewer coats. Plus spatter resistant paint can mean faster cleanup with less chance of droplets getting on surfaces where you don't want them.
Lower Cost per Year
For exterior work, the cost per square foot per year is lower when you use a top-quality paint because it will last longer as long as you prepare the surface well and use quality application tools and techniques.
For interior work, high-quality paint can reduce the frequency of painting because it has better resistance to dirt and stains and stands up to repeated cleaning.
Comparing Paints
Oil vs. Latex
Quality exterior latex paints provide:
- Better retention of gloss and color, especially in sunny settings
- Better resistance to chalking and long-term cracking and peeling
Quality exterior oil-based paints offer:
- Superior one-coat hiding
- Better adhesion to difficult chalky surfaces
- Better durability when you paint in conditions below 50°F
Quality interior latex paints provide:
- Better long-term flexibility and resistance to cracking and chipping
- Resistance to yellowing with age in areas protected from sunlight
- Less odor, easy clean up with water and they are not flammable
Quality interior oil-based paints offer:
- Superior one-coat hiding
- Better adhesion to difficult surfaces such as those not thoroughly cleaned
- Greater 'opentime' or length of time the paint may be brushed before it sets
Acrylic vs. Vinyl
If you choose latex paint, one with 100% acrylic binder offers these advantages over vinyl acrylic formulations:
- Adhesion in wet weather conditions
- Better resistance to peeling and blistering
- More water resistance so they dry more quickly, minimizing dirt and mildew
- Resistance to staining from water and foods
- Resistance to alkalinity in household cleaners
- Resistance to alkalinity in fresh masonry means color applied to fresh stucco, cinder block, concrete, and brick will fade more slowly and be more resistant to deterioration if there is water infiltration
Finishes
Flat Finish
Flat finish paint is a great choice for uniform appearance across a large area. It hides dents and dings, but it can trap dirt and create a mildew-friendly environment more than a satin or semigloss formula.
Satin Finishes
Satin finishes offer a crisp long-lasting just-painted look. They can duplicate the original satin appearance of aluminum or vinyl siding and will resist mildew better than a flat formula.
Gloss and Semigloss
Gloss and semigloss finishes set off doors, trim and other architectural details. They also tend to resist dirt and mildew.
Ceiling Paints
Ceiling paints diffuse light from lamps and windows and have excellent spatter resistance.
Mastering Masonry
Specialized Masonry Paints
Specialized masonry paints provide excellent coverage and durability. Or you can choose elastomeric wall coatings (EWCs) which are special 100% acrylic latex formulations. They are designed to cover and fill in cracks that form in masonry, expanding and contracting with the cracks as temperatures rise and fall. Final dry thickness is about 10 times that of conventional paint and coverage per gallon is just 40-60 square feet.
Exterior Latex House Paint
You can use quality exterior latex house paint on well-prepared masonry, but be sure to follow manufacturer's instructions. Don't apply vinyl acrylic paint to masonry less than a year old.
Consider the Weather
Paint performs better in mild conditions. In fact, poor painting conditions can greatly compromise the paint job.
Not Too Cold
For many paints, the minimum application temperature is 50°F, which applies to the surface being painted as well as the air temperature. Painting at low temperatures will:
- Make brushing and rolling more difficult
- Retard proper drying and leave the wet paint susceptible to capturing airborne dirt, insects and pollen
- With latex products, it's best to paint when the temperature is predicted to remain above 50°F for the next 36 hours
Not Too Hot
Very hot conditions can make latex paint dry too fast and compromise durability. Avoid painting in the following conditions:
- Air or surface temperature exceeds 90°F
- Direct sunshine, especially with dark colored paint
- Gusty winds
- Low humidity
- On highly porous surfaces such as old, weathered stucco
Paint Problem Solver
Here are a few common paint problems and ways to solve them:
Mildew
Black, gray or brown spots or areas on the surface of paint or caulk.
Possible causes:
- Forms most often on areas that tend to be damp, or receive little or no direct sunlight (e.g., bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms)
- Use of an alkyd or oil-based paint, or lower quality latex paint
- Failure to prime bare wood surface before applying the paint
- Painting over a substrate or coating without first removing mildew
Solution:
Test for mildew by applying a few drops of household bleach to the area; if it is bleached away, the discolorant is probably mildew. Remove all mildew from the surface by scrubbing with a diluted household bleach solution (one part bleach, three parts water), while wearing rubber gloves and eye protection. Rinse thoroughly. To protect against mildew, use a top quality latex paint, and clean when necessary with bleach/detergent solution. Consider installing an exhaust fan in high moisture areas.
Roller Spattering
Tendency of a roller to throw off small droplets of paint during application.
Possible causes:
- Use of exterior paint on an interior surface
- Use of lower grades of latex paints
Solution:
- Use higher quality paints which are are formulated to minimize spattering
- Use high quality rollers
- Don't overload the roller with paint or over work the paint once it is applied to the surface
- Work in three-foot square sections, apply the paint in a zigzag "M" or "W" pattern, then fill in the pattern
For more painting problems and solutions, visit the Problem Solver at www.paintquality.com.
Roll Out the Color Selector
How to Get the Color You Want
You've finally selected the paint color you love from hundreds of swatches and chips. You bring it home and apply your first brush strokes. To your dismay, it looks nothing like you imagined! You check it against your chip and find it is the exact match. Why does it look completely different on your walls?
We perceive color differently depending on lighting conditions, the space the color occupies, time of day, other colors in the environment and dozens of other factors. Before you commit to buying several gallons of paint, bring home a small amount of the color and apply it to a limited area on the wall or on your house exterior. Wait for it to dry, then view it at various times of day and at night. You can have the shade made lighter or darker, then try the test again until you're satisfied with the color.
Creating Space
Is your bedroom too small? Do you wish your family room felt more intimate? Color has the power to change your sense of space. If a ceiling feels too low, bright white can "raise" your perception of its height. If you're adventuresome, paint your walls with vertical stripes to enhance the sense of height.
To make a large room feel cozy and intimate, choose darker shades for the walls. A darker shade on a tall ceiling will "lower" it. Use color to create visual breaks. Divide your wall space horizontally with a chair rail and paint the upper and lower portions different colors.
COLOR-CHOICE CHECKLIST
- Consider the function of the room and who will use it most
- Remember that color impacts mood, appetite and energy level
- Look at the exposure of the room. Sunny southern exposure may be a good spot for cool color tones, like blue or green, while a shaded and northerly facing room might call for warmer hues such as yellow or orange
- Review the adjacent room colors. There should be some relationship between them and the new paint color for the sake of flow and continuity
- Consider the style or decor of your home. Is it modern, traditional, or eclectic? You may want to research colors from different periods like Victorian or Colonial for colors appropriate to the period that inspired your home's design details
- If you have already chosen furnishings for the room, bring swatches and samples when choosing the paint color. For more information on color selection, visit the Paint Quality Design Center at www.paintquality.com
Before you pick up that brush...
Visit www.paintquality.com, the official Web site of The Paint Quality Institute, where you'll find many more painting pointers.
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