Oil vs. Latex Paints

Many homeowners seem to be convinced that oil (also known as alkyd) paints are better than latex (also known as water-based or water borne) paints, to the point where they often insist that their contractor use an oil based paint. And while this used to be true, it is no longer.

Starting in the mid-to-late 1970s, various government agencies started regulating the use of certain chemicals and ingredients commonly used in house paints. They started by restricting the use of lead in paint, and every few years they added another chemical or component to the list of ingredients paint manufacturers were required to phase out of use. The initial purpose of these regulations was to protect the public from exposure to harmful components. As the environmental movement gained steam, protecting our world became an additional goal.

One result of all these legislative and regulatory changes is that today’s oil paints have been so modified that they no longer provide the durability and longevity they used to provide. In fact, the major paint manufacturers are phasing out oil paints altogether.

There was a period during the 1990s and early 2000s when the reduced quality of the oils was still superior to the latexes of the times. However, the quality of the oils has continued to decline at the same time that the technology used in the latexes has gotten much better. Today, oils are disappearing from the market and the new latexes are as good, or even better, than the old oils used to be.

Certain specialty coatings are still oil-based, such as some specific metal and flooring products, as well as transparent wood and concrete stains, and some specialty primers, but non-oil alternatives are also available and will perform well. For the vast majority of applications found on a standard residential project, there is no need to use oil paints.

This should clear up any confusion about oils versus latexes. However, if you plan on using latexes over old oil paints, there is an issues called Intercoat Adhesion Failure you should be aware of, and will be covered in my next blog post.