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- Oil-based paints are better than water-based paints because they are more washable. NOT NECESSARILY.
Today is a time of change in the paint industry. With environmental issues coming to the fore, paint manufacturers are busy formulating new products that cut down on VOCs (volatile organic compounds) which may have adverse health effects. We now have water-based products that can match and even out-perform the ‘traditional’ durable oil-based coatings. Besides obvious advantages of water-based paints like low VOCs, easy cleanup with water, quick-drying, alkali resistance and stable non-yellowing colour over time, some products which were previously not very washable can now be formulated to be washable e.g., Vinyl Matt Emulsion, and water-based products are finding more use on metals. Oil-based paints have advantages of an attractive highly washable gloss, good levelling (brush strokes fill themselves in to create a smooth finish) and a hard, durable finish. But these are far outweighed by the advantages of water-based paints and they have two major disadvantages of yellowing when used in dark areas like cupboards and being prone to alkali attack when used directly on plaster and concrete.
- Is thick paint necessarily better than a thin one? NO.
A fat guy is not necessarily healthier than a thin one! Paint may be made thick by just adding thickener with no addition of resin or pigment. Furthermore, when you dilute thick paint you gain on covering a larger area but you lose on opacity (hence need more coats) and lose on durability because you now have less resin per litre to provide protection.
- Is an expensive paint necessarily better than a cheaper one? YES.
If you are comparing paint from a single manufacturer, price and name are usually good indicators. Manufacturers need to charge more for their premium quality paint since it contains more of more costly ingredients. Price is a good indicator of quality since a manufacturer isn’t going to charge more for a lesser quality paint (or label it as a premium paint when it’s not), since their name is on the product. Be careful when comparing products from different companies as some companies will charge more for the same quality as others simply because they are known to be market leaders!
- Is there any benefit of using good quality paint? DEFINITELY.
Premium quality paint saves you time and money. If you only need to paint your house once every five years instead of every second year, you can see that paying even twice as much for quality paint, in the long run, will be less expensive in terms of labour costs, time, money and effort. Paint prices go up every year, labour charges also increase. Using a good quality paint may also mean fewer coats and less labour costs if labour is charged per coat, and also reduced hassles of having to move furniture or vacating your home for some days every two years instead of once every five years.