MORE ABOUT STAINS AND PAINTS - PART II

This is part two of a 2 part series of articles on paints and stains.

Interior Paints Coatings for Every Job

Did you ever wonder about the difference between interior and exterior paints? I once used exterior paint on an inside ceiling, reasoning that it could last longer. It could last longer, but as I then found out when I had to touch up the ceiling only 2 yrs later, exterior paints will discolor on an inside surface. Exterior paints contain special additives made to withstand the outdoors. Interior paints have additives that help the paint dry out to a durable, uniform surface finish.

Most of the advances in painting technology have been with latex. In fact, latex has overtaken oil-based paint in several areas: strength and elasticity, as well as ease of application, clean-up, and disposal. Latexes have fewer VOCs than oil-based paints. Some, such as the Pristine brand created by Benjamin Moore, are made with no VOCs whatsoever. Today's latexes are created with higher quality pigments and binders that provide them more body, so each goes on thicker.

Latexes enjoy quite a bit of recognition for interior applications, especially for walls and ceilings. Alkyds continue to be the professionals' choice for trimming work because oil based paints are easier to paint on detailed areas like molding and trim. However, that traditional approach is gradually changing as better latexes, including Pratt & Lambert's Accolade Interior Acrylic Semi Gloss, are introduced to the market.

Exactly What You Are Looking For - Exterior Paint Coatings

Moisture can be an important consideration for exterior paint selection. Every day a family group of four will generate several gallons of vaporized water inside a house.

Combined with naturally occurring humidity, this may mean a a large amount of moisture moving through the walls and siding. Water is highest in the baths and kitchen. If these rooms aren't sufficiently ventilated, water will migrate through the wall surfaces. Vapor barriers help contain wetness, but vapor always seeks to leave. The structure of a house, the sort of vapor barrier it has, ventilation, and humidity all make selecting the right paint critical.

In wetter climates you need a paint that will let moisture pass through the wood, so water doesn't get trapped under the paint and cause blistering and peeling. Latexes are porous and let moisture go through, unlike alkyd paints, which form a waterproof seal. Alkyds also don't flex with areas that expand and contract, as wood does, especially in colder climates. Latex paints have significantly more elasticity, allowing better adhesion.

I favor using latex on all exterior surfaces, including wood siding, stucco, and masonry. Latexes resist fading much better than most oil-based paints, and they'll cover either oil-based or latex primer (most oils have to go over an alkyd primer).

Latexes do a great job of covering cement. Despite its hardness, concrete is very porous, and oil-based paints don't always stay well. For greatest durability, I recommend latex enamel.

In general, if I know of a latex product that provides superior performance, I will choose it over an oil-based product that should be cleaned with a thinner.

Latex only needs water. Thinners add one more expenditure, are hard to dispose of, and usually end up spattered on my skin or clothes, no matter how careful I am.

Improve Your Interior Staining

You may spend a life time learning about stains and sealers, but there's nothing mysterious about them. The bottom line in figuring out which stain to utilize is to become acquainted with the product lines available. Scan the label, along with any product information you can get, and talk to the personnel at a professional paint shop.

Exterior stains come in oil based, varnish, polyurethane, and water-borne solvents. Stains have less colorant than paint and more solvents, giving them higher wood penetration. Waterproofing is important with exterior stains. Most include built-in sealants to increase sturdiness and help maintain the wood. The color in stains can be pigments, dyes, or both. A semi-transparent stain has more dye for grain penetration. A solid stain has more pigment for surface covering. Pigment is a finely ground coloring that doesn't penetrate the grain as deeply as a dye. That's why a pigmented stain is often used along with a sealer such as urethane or varnish.

Some high quality interior stains have dyes to penetrate and pigments to draw out the richness of the grain. Others contain only pigments, which are much easier to apply, combine, and touch up. Pigmented stains are lighter in color and bring out more of the wood grain. If you are looking for darker results, a dyed stain provides what you would like in one layer (be sure to use a conditioner on porous wood, such as pine and birch wood, to avoid splotching). Dyed stains are extremely difficult to touch up. Every coating eventually will need touching up, so make sure to consider ease of maintenance in your selection of stains. You'll get the best results by using better stains such as Minwax, Pratt & Lambert's Tonetic, Pittsburgh's Rez, or Wood-Kote.

If you wish to stay away from the watery nature of stains, try a gel stain, which had most of the liquid solvent removed. Gels are easy to use. They wipe on, dry out fast, and cover evenly. Since they're colored with pigment, gel stains don't penetrate that well. They're a great choice for porous woods that are tough to coat evenly without a toner. Gel stains do a excellent job of showing off the grain on embossed metal or composite surfaces. I don't recommend using them for hardwoods, which require a good dye stain to emphasize the depth and beauty of the grain.

How We Improved Our Painting With Sanding Sealers

Sanding sealers are interior primers that both penetrate and seal wood. You can use them under clear coats or on top of stains as sealers. Sanding sealers are different from a sealer like polyurethane, which is not designed to prime. They're more like varnish, but diluted with solvents to allow better penetration for priming. The hardness of varnishes and lacquers prevents them from soaking into the wood pores. Sanding sealer can offer a better bond for clear coats.

Shellacs are often added to sanding sealers to fortify the resin and provide an instant drying agent. They also add an amber tone, so if you are utilizing a sanding sealer with shellac, make sure it won't impact the stain. Shellacs tend to yellow aver time and contain toluene, which has a high VOC content. Shellacs are gradually supplying ways to new sanding sealer formulas with lower VOCs and better performance.

Alkyd resin sanding sealers also have high VOCs, although less than their shellac based cousins. Pittsburgh Paints makes a slow drying alkyd resin sanding sealer without shellac known as Rez 77-1. This specific primer/sealer is wonderful for both interiors and exteriors. Pratt & Lambert's Latex Sanding Sealer has very low VOCs, but is strictly for interior wood and must not be used under a water borne polyurethane.

Oil-based sanding sealers can also be utilized to seal exterior wood, especially decking, which is continually subjected to sun and water. For color regularity in areas like decks, you need to completely coat, or back prime, the lumber before it is in place, using the same sealer or stain. Olympic Water Guard, Messmer's UV Plus, Behr's, and most high end deck stains are excellent water repellent sealers that also can be used for priming outside wood.

Method for Wood and Stain Sealers on Interior Wood

Sealers, including varnishes, lacquers, urethanes, and shellacs, are added to the stain itself, applied as a top coat on top of a stain, or used as a clear coat on unstained wood trim. They can be used for just about any type of wood trim, including windows, doorways, and the casing around them. Although you can purchase stain/sealer combinations, they have a tendency to yellow, are difficult to maintain, and don't last as long as separately applied stain and sealers.

Varnishes contain natural oils such as Tung oil, a very hard, durable sealant that can be brushed on and dries slowly. Varnishes are easy to clean and maintain with soap and water followed by a wiped on varnish, which often keeps a wood surface looking ideal for years. Make sure there's no wax in your cleaner, because wax clogs wood pores. I favor using Hope's Tung Oil varnish for a wipe-on maintenance layer. Lacquer is a fast drying sealer that more often than not needs to be sprayed, since it becomes tacky almost immediately.

Polyurethanes do almost everything shellac does, but they're simpler to maintain. While shellacs act like paint, polyurethanes act more like a clear coat that permeates the wood instead of sitting on top of it. Polyurethanes brush on and dry quickly, with little smell and VOCs. They have more or less replaced shellacs as a clear sealer. Another reason urethanes have become such popular sealers is the fact that they don't really require sanding sealers.

The odors associated with many paints and stains can be more than simply offensive, they can be toxic. Solvent based varnishes, lacquers, and shellacs provide a very hard coating but contain very high VOC levels. Water based sealers, like the stains, match the performance of several solvent based sealers, with fewer VOCs. The VOC content of water based sealers such as Sherwin Williams Kern Aqua Lacquer average about 250 grams per liter, or 2 pounds per gallon, half the most common VOCs of oil-based lacquers. The ethers in water based sealers aren't combustible, another advantage, but they still have sufficient VOCs to warrant a respirator.

Although they resist yellowing, water borne sealers such as acrylic latex polyurethanes do have a tendency to raise the grain. They'll also harden or "flash off" quickly at temperatures higher than 60°F. The best working temperature for most water based acrylic latex polyurethanes is between 50°F and 60°F, which lets them flash a bit more slowly. In cases like this, flashing-off simply means that the solvent evaporates and leaves the resins to finish the drying out process. A contractor I know once used water based latex polyurethane sealer that flashed off so fast he could only use it between 5 A.M. and 9 A.M. Anything later than that was too warm.

Minwax makes very good water based polyurethane, as do Pittsburgh, Pratt & Lambert, Benjamin Moore, and others.

Stains and Sealers for the Exterior

Because of their better penetration and sealing power, most exterior stains sold today are oil-based. However, oil-based solid stains peel as they grow older, making them more challenging to maintain. A solid stain is similar to paint: It coats more than it penetrates. A latex solid stain peels less and is also simpler to maintain as it ages. However, I favor oil-based products for semi-transparent stains. Added oil solvents let them penetrate deeper. Some of the better stains on the marketplace include Pittsburgh Solid Color Latex Stain, Messmer's U.V Plus, Moorwood Solid Color Exterior Stain, Sherwin Williams Woodscape stains, Pittsburgh Semi-transparent Exterior Stain, Rez Deck Stain by Pittsburgh, and the Sikkens Cetol system.

Deck stains will often have more solids than a typical outside stain, which make them more durable. I would recommend buying a high-end stain that is semi-transparent or what's called a trans-oxide. Until lately, the major problem with outdoor stains was their low UV resistance, but newer trans-oxides have finely ground metal mixed in for better protection. A higher end deck stain won't require a different sealer overcoat, although you can include one (such as Olympic Water Guard) if you believe extra protection is required to battle moisture and sun exposure. Better deck stains retail for about $35 a gallon and cover 300 to 400 sq. ft.

Stay away from deck stains which contain silicone. Despite their low price, they aren't a good deal. Advertisements for silicone stains and deck sealers often show beaded up water on the deck, and many people are fooled into thinking that this is actually the indication of a successful coating. However, silicone breaks down quickly, usually in just a matter of months, leaving a discolored, waxy coat that is a pain to remove. The broken down silicone also quits repelling water.

"High build" coatings such as Sikkens and Messmers work remarkably well on outside siding, nevertheless they are too soft to be used on your deck. Removing these coatings calls for gallons of wood cleaner and way too much work.

Water based exterior stains, such as Sherwin Williams Woodscapes, combine the advantages of oil-based and latex coatings. They run and drip less than oil based stain, and dry faster, enabling two coatings the same day. Water based stains have the resilience and flexibility of any latex stain, giving them lasting strength. They're a great choice for most applications. However that cleaning up water borne stains calls for work. There are a couple of oil components in the solvent that have to be cleaned. First use soap and water, then alcohol. Ask your seller for specific cleaning guidelines for water based stains, and read the label.

When In Doubt, Ask

If you still have questions about which paint or stain to utilize, please ask people in the know. An experienced, proficient salesperson can answer any questions you might have. Choose a paint store with personnel having at least 10 years of experience in the business. Inquire further what has worked best for your unique application and ask to read a spec sheet on the merchandise in question.

The answers you get will depend on whom you ask. A paint store will attempt to sell you one their own products, after all, that is why they're in business. Painting contractors may not be impartial, either. They need to sell their experience. I get tons of calls from people needing assistance with their painting problems. Most painters, including myself, don't object to giving an hour of our time, but if you need in depth answers, consider finding a contractor for a professional analysis. Rates vary, but I usually charge about $60 for a written and oral analysis, depending on the driving time included. A paid analysis will tell you whether you should paint, stain, or re-side, as well as which finish might be best for finishing your project. Each painting job has unique conditions that warrant specific answers.

Sound Quality Painting

824 90th Dr SE suite B

Lake Stevens WA 98258

(425) 512-7400

Sound Quality Painting