Painting for Noobs – Water vs Oil

When renovating your home or any other living space, colour is one of the priorities before settling into the place. One of the simplest ways of manipulating this colour is by adding paint into the mix. Paint is usually available in a few different variants, some are ideal for indoor surfaces and others for outdoor surfaces. In this article, we aim to de-mystify all of these variants to make your decision easier to make next time you’re at the hardware store.

Oil-based Paint

Sometimes referred to as solvent-based paints, oil paint is going to be a great choice if you are looking for something durable and reliable. You will be able to purchase oil-based paint at a very reasonable price, too. This makes it one of the most common types of paint that are used in people’s homes.

This type of paint can stand the test of time for you. If you want your paint to last for as long as possible without showing signs of damage or wear, then using oil-based paint is the way to go. This paint is resilient and can look beautiful in your home for many years. If you have made a decision on which color of paint you would like to have on your walls, then you can lock it in for a long time by going with an oil-based paint.

One of the problems that people have with oil-based paint is that it doesn’t dry as quickly as some of the other options. It can take several hours longer for this paint to dry. This is a bit of an inconvenience, but depending on your needs, it can be worth the wait. Take everything into consideration before you make your final decision on which type of paint to use in your home.

Water-based Paint

Water-based paint isn’t quite as resilient or long-lasting as the oil-based options on the market, but it can still be a good choice for you to use. This paint has several advantages over oil-based options. One of the biggest reasons that people choose water-based paints is that they dry a lot quicker. When you want to get the painting done as fast as possible, water-based paints are certainly going to save you some time.

When you use this type of paint to paint the interior of your home, you’ll be able to do many coats of paint in a single day. It doesn’t take too long for the water-based paint to dry and you’ll be able to make steady progress. Oil-based paint isn’t quite so easy to use, as it can take a long time to dry. This prolongs the process, so buying water-based paint is often going to be the most efficient way to get the job done.

This type of paint is significantly easier to clean up as well. You will usually be able to clean up water-based paint using a bit of soap and some water. Cleaning up the oil-based paint is going to require a lot more effort and this can add more time to your job. It’s a lot more convenient to use a water-based paint for interior paint jobs because of this.