Latex vs. Oil Paint

Painting the interior of your home is one of the most beneficial home improvement projects that you can undertake. Not only will it make your home look completely new, but it is also relatively inexpensive. But there is one question many homeowners are faced with when beginning an interior painting project: should I use latex or oil paint? Choosing between these two types of paint can be a difficult decision when you are unfamiliar with their strengths and weakness. If you want to paint your Pennsylvania home, keep reading to see which paint comes out on top in the battle of latex vs. oil paint.

Oil Paint

Oil paint is a favorite for many people for a number of reasons. People who have very little time to paint their homes often prefer oil based paint both because it goes on very smoothly and generally covers a larger surface area with a single coat. This is particularly advantageous for homeowners who work full-time and only have the weekend available to work on their home improvement projects.

Oil based paint also tends to take longer to dry, which means you can work for a longer period of time, shortening the overall length of your painting project. Finally, oil paint is also highly durable, making it the perfect paint for people with very active households.

However, oil based paints also have their drawbacks, the primary being environmental concerns with longevity as a close second. Oil based paints often give off very strong fumes because of their chemical composition, which means you have to be very careful when painting to make sure the home is well ventilated so that you aren’t overexposed. In addition, harsh solvents are needed to cleanse brushes used with oil paint, which increases the health and environmental risks of using this paint type. Lastly, oil based paints are likely to crack, fade and yellow over time, necessitating periodic re-painting.

Latex Paint

Because of the disadvantages of oil based paints, latex paint might be the perfect solution to paint your Pennsylvania home. The advantages of latex paints are actually the opposite to the disadvantages of oil based paints, which is what makes latex so attractive. Latex paints hold up very well over time, and are resistant to the yellowing suffered by oil based paints. It also is much more environmentally friendly and easy to clean up once a project is finished. Also, for those who always want their walls to be spotless, latex painted walls are much easier to clean, requiring only soap and water.

In fact, latex paints are so versatile that the only real disadvantage to them is that they tend to enlarge the wood grain in your walls, which means you would have to sand between coats and subsequently lengthen your project.

Making Your Painting Project Easy

When you’ve decided to paint your Pennsylvania home, it is important that you choose the right type of paint. And when you’re trying to pick between latex vs. oil paint, there are many factors to take under consideration, as we have seen. But after you’ve chosen the right paint for your home, you might find yourself overwhelmed at the size of the project, which is why ServiceWhale is dedicated to connecting you with the right home painting services at the right price.

Our simple, intuitive request wizard will help you find the best painting services in Pennsylvania at the prices that you want. To find the painting services that fit your needs, choose ServiceWhale.