Latex vs. oil paint
Miller McDonald
answer. We need to repaint our house. We have been in it for five years
and the exterior cedar trim was initially painted with an oil-based Olympic
stain. We just had an estimate for the repainting (wow!) and the expert
indicated that he wanted to repaint the house with latex. I read Consumer
Reports and they suggested (my interpretation) that oil-based stain adhered
better and lasted longer on the exterior although it is more difficult to
handle (paint and clean-up). Well, I've concluded I want oil. My wife says
we should listen to the expert. I've decided we will listen to the experts
on this newsgroup and from there we will make a decision. Anyone have an
opinion?? Thanks.
Peter Lemmond
First off, you might want try posting this to misc.consumers.house
newsgroup, as folks here in r.ww *hate* the idea of painting over wood
:-) There's an excellant Paint FAQ that gets posted to m.c.h on a
regular basis.
Second, the oil versus latex battle is essentially over. A high quality
latex is equal to a high quality oil based paint. Cheap paint never
pays...
-Peter
Chips
with your topic. A few years back I would have leaned toward oil in your
situation but today's latex paints are at least as good or better.
The thing to consider is that on new unpainted wood the oil base will
penetrate better and may have some advantage. In your case you will be
painting over the oil and the wood is already sealed.
You may want to use a good bonding primer between the oil and the latex
if you switch to latex to help the latex adhere to the oil.
Good luck,
Chips
Eric D. Cosens
mmcd...@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu (Miller McDonald) wrote:
> I don't know who to send this to but this newsgroup probably has the
> answer. We need to repaint our house. We have been in it for five years
> and the exterior cedar trim was initially painted with an oil-based Olympic
> stain. We just had an estimate for the repainting (wow!) and the expert
> indicated that he wanted to repaint the house with latex. I read Consumer
> Reports and they suggested (my interpretation) that oil-based stain adhered
> better and lasted longer on the exterior although it is more difficult to
> handle (paint and clean-up). Well, I've concluded I want oil. My wife says
> we should listen to the expert. I've decided we will listen to the experts
> on this newsgroup and from there we will make a decision. Anyone have an
> opinion?? Thanks.
You can also seek advice in "misc.comsumers.house" and "alt.home.repair".
Be sure you investigate what surface preparation is required. I've heard
that some problems can arise when painting latex products over oil-based
products although I haven't experienced this (I always cover oil w/oil &
latex w/latex). Proper surface preparation and quality paint make the
difference between painting every 3 years and painting every 15.
Regards,
Eric
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* The opinions expressed in this note are *
* mine, not those of my employer. *
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John O'Brien (4143)
|> I don't know who to send this to but this newsgroup probably has the
|> answer. We need to repaint our house. We have been in it for five years
|> and the exterior cedar trim was initially painted with an oil-based Olympic
|> stain. We just had an estimate for the repainting (wow!) and the expert
|> indicated that he wanted to repaint the house with latex. I read Consumer
|> Reports and they suggested (my interpretation) that oil-based stain adhered
|> better and lasted longer on the exterior although it is more difficult to
|> handle (paint and clean-up). Well, I've concluded I want oil. My wife says
|> we should listen to the expert. I've decided we will listen to the experts
|> on this newsgroup and from there we will make a decision. Anyone have an
|> opinion?? Thanks.
--
I have had problems in the past putting latex over oil, even though "they"
say it is perfectly OK. I would strongly recommend oil over oil or
latex over latex, but not to mix the two.
John
"Measure it 3 times, check it 2 times, cut it once"
------------------------------------------
| John O'Brien |
| Johnson & Johnson Clinical Diagnostics |
| Rochester, NY |
------------------------------------------
Craig Nass
On 08 Aug. 95 08:03 Eric D. Cosens wrote to All...
EC> ts00-ind-8.iquest.net>
EC> Newsgroups: rec.woodworking
EC> Organization: DowElanco
EC> In article <mmcdonal.1...@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu>,
EC> mmcd...@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu (Miller McDonald) wrote:
EC> > I don't know who to send this to but this newsgroup probably has the
EC> > answer. We need to repaint our house. We have been in it for five
EC> years
EC> > and the exterior cedar trim was initially painted with an oil-based
EC> Olympic
EC> > stain. We just had an estimate for the repainting (wow!) and the
EC> expert
EC> > indicated that he wanted to repaint the house with latex. I read
EC> Consumer
EC> > Reports and they suggested (my interpretation) that oil-based stain
EC> adhered
EC> > better and lasted longer on the exterior although it is more difficult
EC> to
EC> > handle (paint and clean-up). Well, I've concluded I want oil. My wife
EC> says
EC> > we should listen to the expert. I've decided we will listen to the
EC> experts
EC> > on this newsgroup and from there we will make a decision. Anyone have
EC> an
EC> > opinion?? Thanks.
I am assuming that your trim is rough sawn cedar. If not, paint it do not
stain it. Also assuming the color is solid hide not semi transparent.
There is an upside and downside.
Cedar contains water soluble resins that will bleed through a water
based finish and cause discoloration which is especially noticeable on
light colors but may not be on dark brown. For this reason the first coat put
on new wood is usually oil.
The downside to oil is that it fades faster than latex and is much more
likely to mildew.
You can usually use latex for recoat if the stain on now is in resonably
good condition.
There is no problem recoating oil based solid hide stain with latex.
This rule does not apply to paint or semi-transparent stains.
If you need more info contact directly.
Rgds,
-=Craig=-
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