Re: Oil or Latex? how do you know for sure?

When we painted our house last time, we weren't sure what kind of paint was on the walls. The local paint store gave us a test kit to use. Just a swab with some sort of solvent on it. Not sure if it's "fool-proof" or not, but there you go.

Clint

Benjamin Moore sells a primer called "Fresh Start" which is latex based and can be applied over either oil or latex, indoor or outdoor use. Try using this before your top coat of paint. I'm sure other paint manufacturers have similar products.

When in doubt always use latex.

Latex over oil is o.k. oil over latex is NOT o.k.

M.C. somewhere out there

"Leon" wrote

Are you kiddin me? No cleaning and No priming

Yaaaahhhhhh! riiiggghhht smoke another one Leon!

M.C. somewhere out there

No kidding... I thought the salesman was dippy too. Of course if you have a glob of dirt on the wall you need to clean that. But read the label on the can for yourself... And so far after 5 years the paint on my house is holding up very nicely. Just remember to look for the WeatherBeater LIFETIME warranty paint... Sherwin Williams has their version of that paint also as SW makes the paint for Sears.

Your house must be in the shade all day to last 5 years with no cleaning or priming.

Next time I get to Sears I'll have to look at that. I thought that was a very unusual statement you made.

What do they consider a LIFETIME?

M.C. still somewhere out there

I wish... one wall faces west with no afternoon shade and I am in Houston.

IIRC as long as you own the house....and then all the legal stuff about you probably have to keep the cans.. Any way lifetime or not, it is absolutely a great paint to use and I simply painted over the other 12 year old paint with no prep except for caulking and knockig down wasp nests. Oddly it has polyurethane in it which I assume extends the life of the porduct. Normally about $30 a gallon but on sale now for $20. Kinda expensive but well worth it.

You have this backwards. Your everyday latex will not stick directly to oil paint. Oil will cover latex with no problem. Also, you can take denatured alcohol on a rag and wipe your old paint in a small spot. If the paint comes off it is latex, if it just cleans up, it's oil.

Jake

"When in doubt always use latex.

Latex over oil is o.k. oil over latex is NOT o.k.

WRONG. You can put oil over latex, and latex over oil. What matters is the FINISH. Always try to recoat with paint that is either the SAME OR HIGHER FINISH than the coat you are painting over. (e.g. NEVER put flat on gloss or semi-gloss, or semi-gloss on gloss). If you use a lesser finish, the adhesion will be very poor. It will flake off in a few months.

So the rule is: If in doubt, use a GLOSS finish (in either oil or latex, doesn't matter).

Note, even if a gloss coat on a surface is very old and "chaulky" that it appears to be a flat finish, you should still apply a GLOSS coat.

"Rob Dougan" wrote

if you paint oil paint over latex paint it will peel not visa versa.

I am not talking about primer.

and you call yourself a painter?

M.C.

Will it do so long after? I spilled some latex on the driveway while refinishing the stucco around a door months ago. It doesn't look too great. Worth bothering? To buy the alcohol, and all that elbow grease. . (BTW, does one get denatured alcohol at a homeowners place, or?)

Will it do so long after? I spilled some latex on the driveway while refinishing the stucco around a door months ago. It doesn't look too great. Worth bothering? To buy the alcohol, and all that elbow grease. . (BTW, does one get denatured alcohol at a homeowners place, or?)

Forever after. Buy at any paint store and I imagine Lowes or HD. For a driveway I would think paint remover would be a faster more cost effective solution. Swab it on, wait and scrub with a wire bush (wear eye protection) and rinse with a hose.

So after all this conversation, what /is/ the best way to paint if you don't know how the original paint job was done? I can't imagine pro painters stripping every job they encounter [unless it fails the scotch tape test - rub on a piece of scotch tape and rip it off, if it comes off in a big sheet, then the undercoat is too weak to paint over]. What I've heard is that the best thing to use is an oil primer like Killz, no matter what the top coat is going to be, but a few other comments I've seen say that Zinsser 1-2-3 or Benjamin Moore Fresh Start is better [both latex based].