The difference between oil and latex in a paint job

A paint job is without a doubt a very complex job and one needs to be very careful when selecting the materials to be used in it, from the brushes, rolls, and of course, the paint. One needs to be careful on selecting the best quality paint for the job.

And here comes the reason for this post, when selecting the paint you need to take into account where is it going to be applied and the conditions it will be on afterwards, why? Because there are two types of paint that you need to choose from: oil and latex.

Latex paint or water based paint, is used for most jobs like wall painting, this kind of paint, like we just mentioned, is water soluble which means water is used to lighten it before painting, but also means that you can not use it for applications where water and humidity are going to be present.

For that kind of applications you need to use oil paint, which, as its name states, is oil based and and other kind of solvents are to be used to lighten it, this kind of paint is perfect for applications where humidity and water is going to present since, because of what we just mentioned it, it won’t mix up and dissolve.

So, it is very important not just to select the highest quality paint but also the kind of paint that is adequate to the kind of job to be performed, this, as you just saw, is very critical because it is the difference between a correct and successful paint job and a disaster.

That said, in your next paint job, make a checklist of what you need and the type of paint you need and you will see that everything will be perfect.