latex vs enamel paint

[masonred]

What is the difference and which is better for interior painting?

[bbqfan5909]

Enamel yellows and smells much worse...painting drywall?

[masonred]

yes drywall, painting over 2nd or 3rd coat, not sure what paint was used

[SMRaider]

I am an ex-Sherwin Williams manager so here are my two cents if you want it. Enamel is not a paint it is a finish, ie: flat, satin (egg shell), semi-gloss, gloss. Your asking for the difference in latex vs oil base.

On Drywall/sheet-rock you want to always want to use latex. oil base will get hard brittle and crack on soft drywall surface. if you are doing doors,cabinets trim, hard surfaces oil base is the best for durability because of the hard surfaces.

However there are now high quality LATEX ENAMELS out there that are designed specifically for hard surfaces like doors, trim and cabinets. The key to the LATEX ENAMELS though is they usually only come in high sheen/gloss finishes, and can be a little harder to apply compared to a regular wall latex paint but still much easier than an oil base.

And on exterior always go latex unless you absolutely have to go oil base. Oil base weathers and ambers on the exterior about 5 times faster than latex.

[masonred]

Thanks SMR, latex it is

[Dale Moser]

I am an ex-Sherwin Williams manager so here are my two cents if you want it. Enamel is not a paint it is a finish, ie: flat, satin (egg shell), semi-gloss, gloss. Your asking for the difference in latex vs oil base.

On Drywall/sheet-rock you want to always want to use latex. oil base will get hard brittle and crack on soft drywall surface. if you are doing doors,cabinets trim, hard surfaces oil base is the best for durability because of the hard surfaces.

However there are now high quality LATEX ENAMELS out there that are designed specifically for hard surfaces like doors, trim and cabinets. The key to the LATEX ENAMELS though is they usually only come in high sheen/gloss finishes, and can be a little harder to apply compared to a regular wall latex paint but still much easier than an oil base.

And on exterior always go latex unless you absolutely have to go oil base. Oil base weathers and ambers on the exterior about 5 times faster than latex.

What about the new acrylic paints?

[SMRaider]

What about the new acrylic paints?

I am assuming you are asking about the Acrylic Latex Enamels, these are the ones that i was mentioning when talking about the NEWER latex enamels.

They were designed to be used in place of traditional oil based paints.

[TexZ71]

I am an ex-Sherwin Williams manager so here are my two cents if you want it. Enamel is not a paint it is a finish, ie: flat, satin (egg shell), semi-gloss, gloss. Your asking for the difference in latex vs oil base.

On Drywall/sheet-rock you want to always want to use latex. oil base will get hard brittle and crack on soft drywall surface. if you are doing doors,cabinets trim, hard surfaces oil base is the best for durability because of the hard surfaces.

However there are now high quality LATEX ENAMELS out there that are designed specifically for hard surfaces like doors, trim and cabinets. The key to the LATEX ENAMELS though is they usually only come in high sheen/gloss finishes, and can be a little harder to apply compared to a regular wall latex paint but still much easier than an oil base.

And on exterior always go latex unless you absolutely have to go oil base. Oil base weathers and ambers on the exterior about 5 times faster than latex.

I'm an ex-painter, I agree SMRaider.
Just make sure the paint you are painting over is not oil base paint. Latex over oil does not work! I always used denatured alcohol to test the surface first. You would be surprised where you find oil based paint.

[masonred]

Latex worked great must not have been oil base on earlier coats. What happens when you rub the denatured alcohol on? I hope no more plans come up for painting I'm slow and painting along floor is tough.

[switchback]

Also if you ever use oil based paint make sure area is ventilated good or it can make you sick.

[TexZ71]

Latex worked great must not have been oil base on earlier coats. What happens when you rub the denatured alcohol on? I hope no more plans come up for painting I'm slow and painting along floor is tough.

Put some denatured alcohol on a rag and rub a spot, Latex paint will get tacky and come off on the rag, oil base paint will not.

[cbd10pt]

Break through by Pittsburg paint is incredibly hard ,sticks to anything and dries in 15 min. Use multiple light fast coats for interior wood