For DIY house owners, it is often exhausting to decide on the simplest kind of paint once you have selected the color. But instead of standing between the choices, have you ever thought of a mixture between oil-based and water-based paint? That’s right, we are talking about latex enamel paint.
What exactly is it? Let’s find out in the article below.
About Latex Paint
Latex is a term applied to water-based acrylic, latex or vinyl cinnamene paints. In the process of researching the composition, the scientists found that they contain chains of artificial polymers that act like natural latex.
Latex paints include vinyl and acrylics with a soluble base. As a result, they can be washed off with water and delicate soap.
Thanks to the new rules by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), whose job concerning creating rules related to the harmful chemical contents found in oil paints, called VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), latex paint is made with 100% environmentally friendly ingredients. Hence, they will not put your health at stake.
Since they are remarkably sturdy, latex paints work best for outdoor painting jobs. Latex paints perform better and let you finish your job easier than oil-based paints.
Vinyl-acrylic, 100% acrylic, and alkyd-modified latex are the three available sorts of latex paint.
Vinyl-acrylic is considered the pick of the bunches as it works for outdoor and interior walls while coming with the least pricey of all.
100% acrylic paints are the nice overall performance paints that retain colors and are best with adhesion.
Alkyd-changed latex paints ingredients can cause skin irritation, especially on the face.
Be careful when using latex-primarily based if you want to paint on bare metal or wood. The water-base paint can lead to corrosive cases causing iron to rust and may enhance the grain on the wood.
About Enamel Paint
At the time whitewash paints were on the wane, a product called enamel paint was a robust selling move within the mid-1800s.
Normally, the “enamel paint” period is applied to provide an explanation for oil-covered goods that are primarily oil-based, followed by a large amount of gloss in it. However, recently many latex-based or water-based paints still use this term.
Today, the term refers to “hard surface paint” and is often related to paint brands with higher quality, high gloss floor coatings or spray paints. Most enamel paints are artificial resin primarily based mostly.
Some are created by means of including varnish to oil-based totally paint.
In reality, dry enamel paints are way softer than real enamels fashioned in an exceedingly oven.
Paint makers have widened the definition by typically attaching the word enamel to water-based paints, and thus losing the one ingredient that typically ties with all enamel paints: solvents.
Main Differences Between Latex And Enamel Paint
It is quite hard to differentiate between the two paints. For several years, people have, on the whole, used both types of paint to defend indoors and outdoors walls.
Safety
Oil-based enamel paints have an unpleasant and especially toxic scent more than water-based latex paints.
Latex paint, on the other hand, smells different and lighter than enamel one.
If you are not careful while painting with enamel paint, you will find yourself full of eye discomfort or breathing problems.
Finish and drying time
Taking a while to completely dry to the touch, but when it is done, enamel oil-based leaves a long-lasting and wonderful finish. Furthermore, oil-based paints are waterproof.
Vice versa, water-based paint can be cleaned easily with water and dries quicker ( It only takes about 30-60 minutes to dry the surface and 3-4 hours to dry completely while oil-based takes for about 24 hours).
Latex Enamel Paint – What Is It?
Latex enamel is the perfect combination of the good features of oil-based and water-based paints.
Oil primarily based paints are significantly mussy to figure with and pack up. The wonder of water-based paint is that it is straightforward to wash up.
In most paint shops, there are tons of choices for the colors of latex enamel paints, giving each individual more options.
Latex enamel paint is the best choice for the interior and exterior of your home.
The number of gloss or radiancy within the enamel will be altered to suit the ornament of any space, therefore you will be able to have a shiny, acrylic look in your living room and an interesting radiancy in a bed chamber with darker colors.
What’s Good And Bad About Latex Enamel Paint
Good
- Eco-friendly
Latex enamel is made from non-toxic chemistry which is environmentally friendly. - Long-lasting
The latex enamel encompasses a sturdy arduous end, which will be cleaned while not taking the paint off the surface. - Perfect combination
- It can work well as oil-based paints despite the weather issues like primarily oil-based paints features.
- Quick-drying time and easy to clean up like water-based paints
- It does not require primer paints
Bad
- Expensive
The price of this product is much higher than that of Latex paint or Enamel paint. - Degraded after a period of time
- Exposure to high humidity can motivate premature failure
- Becomes more brittle with age
Best Latex Enamel Paint Review
Valspar 65048
Valspar Premium latex enamel paint is the best helpful paint in the field of furniture painting for DIYers. Each Valspar Premium coat has an ability to provide the best coverage, drying out a troublesome and hard-wearing end.
It dries quickly and is waterproof and scratch-resistant, and can not fade or yellow. It is resistant to rust thanks to the paint formula.
This product is used for interior and exterior purposes. It provides exceptional wear resistance.
The available details:
- Weight: 2.23 pounds
- Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 4.2 x 4.8 inches
- Color available: Gloss Black, Almond, Blue, Gray, Gloss Cherry, Green, Yellow, Bumble Bee Yellow, Buckeye Brown, Flat Black, Gloss Hunter Green, Gloss Royal Blue, White Gloss, Satin Black.
Advantages:
- High gloss ends – easy to clean and non-toxic once dry.
- Straightforward to wash with water
- Dry to the touch in one hour.
With excellent features: outstanding coverage, rich in gloss and fast-drying time, this paint is sold like hot cakes in the painting markets.
See Also: Valspar Paint Reviews
Majic Paints 8-1501
Truly one of the best quality general purpose coatings obtainable these days.
Diamondhard Acrylic Enamel has higher adhesion than virtually any internal or external surface with a durable elastic head that lasts for years.
Water-based formulations that offer convenience and safety in a product can perform customary oil-based paints in virtually everything.
Diamond arduous Acrylic Gloss Enamel works well on ceramic tile. Apply Diamond arduous by brush, roll or spray in skinny coats, and permit eight hours to dry between coats.
When the final coat has been allowed to dry for 24 hours, recaulk areas such as corners, baseboards with a high-quality acrylic caulking compound.
To wash Diamond arduous, use solely a gentle low-sudsing (phosphate-free) detergent and water, do not use abrasive scrubs (ajax, comet, etc.) spray-type cleaners (Formula 409, Fantastick, etc.), nor lavation liquids.
Available information in store:
- Item Weight: 1.95 pounds
- Product Dimensions: 9 x 9 x 5.2 inches
- Colors: Gloss White, Off White, Satin White, Sandy Beige, Red, Royal Blue, Machine Green, Gray, Navy, Battleship Gray, Light Yellow, Gloss Black, Dark Brown.
How To Know If A Wall Is Painted With Enamel Or Latex?
It is usually tough or impossible to tell apart the distinction between water-based paint and enamel paint once it is treated.
Each sort of paint is widely used for several years to guard internal and external walls. Each product is available on the market with very different finishes, from flatness to high gloss.
Knowing what type of paint has been used before will help you choose the right target for your repaint project.
There could also be compatibility problems between the two sorts of paint.
Dip a clean rag into detergent and later use it to wipe up a small space on the wall.
Check that space again, then scrape off a tiny quantity of paint from the wall.
Any decorative object that attaches to the wall could interfere with the results. So, it is best that you take them off in the first place
Dry your wall again with a clean rag.
Moisten a new rag with alcohol. Then scrub the aforementioned area clean using it. Because the solids in enamel paint will not dissolve in ethanol, if you find paint stains your rag, chances are that your wall is coated with latex paint.
One of the explanations for the recognition of water-base paint is its ability to scrub new paint instrumentation by soap and water rather than diluent paint.
How To Apply Latex Over Enamel?
You can thoroughly apply latex paint on enamel? These steps are vital once you switch from associate degree oil-based enamel to a latex paint.
When painting inside the house, cover the floor and furniture. Otherwise, the paint might get on to them and it will be a paint to scrape it off later
For outdoor projects, you should also cover fences, lawns, and trees if you do not want them to be soiled by paint.
Prepare a bucket of water and construction detergent, also known as TSP.
Prepare another bucket of hot wash water to wash the surface with an artefact soaked in the TSP mixture. Then use a clean artifact soaked in plight to rinse the surface. Finally, permit the surface to dry fully.
Use a block sander with fine sandpaper to roughen the entire surface, then clean the surface of the sanding dust with a clean damp cloth
This step consists of several small phases when you embark on the painting process
- Use an angle paint brush associated with a swirl to paint the perimeter of walls and ceilings.
- Apply paint to tiny areas wherever a roller won’t match.
- Use rollers to coat a bigger space with paint. The next step is to roll over the uneven color, but keep the hands still so that the paint is not too thick or too thin.
- Let the paint dry itself for a certain period time, avoiding any contact with your project
- After the first layer has dried, continue to paint the second layer, and allow it to dry completely.
Tips
No matter how experienced you are when it comes to painting, tips will always make your job much simpler. Knowing this, we have gathered some tricks that painters tend to rely on to get the best out of their work. Come on, take a look at them!
- You can use thinner paints to clean oily products and use soapy water to remove the pus.
- Apply at least 2 coats of latex over the old enamel layer for the best finish result
- Always clean your walls or projects well with TSP before starting the painting job.
- If you intend to work on something of large size, turbine paint sprayers will be more efficient than using paint brushes. It will take less time with little effort. Still, you might have to look up how to put a paint sprayer into use at first.
Conclusion
Latex enamel paint is created to offer features of water-based and oil-based paints and brings out the best of them. Not to mention, it is always the best on the entire market in terms of long-lasting and excellent finishes.
Moreover, this product will not give you a headache when it comes to deciding which paint line is better than the rest because it is the best of both worlds.
Hopefully, with the above article, we have provided you with the information you need to know about this useful paint. Now, it is high time you hit the store and get a can or two for your next project!
Peter Levick
ArchitectI am a licensed architect who is passionate about all things home improvement industries, I have been doing DIY painting projects and have developed lots of experience around home improvement over the 10 years.
