Latex vs. oil and a Wagner question

[91FE]

I live in the northeast and they've outlawed the sale of oil based paint in anything larger than a quart container. I'm planning on painting the rest of my house (interior) this weekend (been a 2 year battle). I've got the stair and second floor hallway left to do. The stairs are all trimmed w/ painted wood... and there's 6 framed door openings to do and all of the base trim (read: an "s" load of trim). All of the trim was originally painted with oil based paint.

For all of the painting I've done so far... I've primed the oil based trim and put on 2-3 coats of latex. It's a pain... and I hate to paint.

The question:
Should I keep doing it the way I've been, or buy quarts of oil based for the stair and door trim?

Another question:
I'm considering a wagner power painter or power roller for the remaining walls and ceiling. I've read both good and bad reviews? Any insight from the trusted souls here?

[mschrank]

Haven't tried the power roller, but I have a Wagner Wide Shot power painter. I would recommend it for interior walls only if they are relatively heavily textured. The painter works great most of the time, but has an annoying habit of spitting out globs from time to time.

Also, if using it indoors, you'll need to mask everything really well or else you'll have a fine un-removable mist on everything.

Best use of the Wagner is for painting "popcorn" texture ceilings and outdoor jobs where speed is a priority over quality.

[jhart]

agree with what Mike said. I have both units. For inside work, walls and ceilings, I generally use the power roller. You can really cover an area fast once you get the hang of when to let more paint on to the roller. Doesn't work so well if there is a lot of cutting in to do.

Generally, one of us cuts in and the other follows with the roller. Really helps in turning over an apartment in a 12 hour period. It also will work "ok" with a texture ceiling as it covers an area and you move on. Texture becomes a problem when the paint soaks into the texture and then you continue to roll over it.

Have used the spray unit for texture ceilings also and it works well, but as Mike said, tape off everything as the fine spray get over and into everything. For me, that's too much trouble and I stay with the power roller.

[ewingda]

I live in Albany, NY and I just bought 5 gals of Behr oil-base primer for my shed. Oil is still around..just not too much.

I have not used the wagner units but I was going to borrow a friends to paint my shed (latex). Im rolling the primer on each panel before I hang it.

D

[jziegler]

I'd stick with Latex, or possibly try a good acrylic enamel. The previous owner of my house used oil absed for all of the (supposedly white) trim, and I hate it. Touch up is impossible because it's all turning yellow. Everytime I do something with the oil base, I hate dealing with the cleanup and smell.

In my experience, lightly sanding the trim (or scrubbing with a heavy duty cleaner) to cut the gloss and two coats of latex do the job, no primer needed.

Jim

[thrytis]

Hijacking this thread for a similar question...

How does the durability of oil compare to latex? I'm repainting my fireplace mantel, which will have stuff sitting on it most of the time, some items likely to be several pounds. Would stuff stick to or leave marks on latex? If oil is the right paint for this, should all the trim around it (base boards that run up to it and windows within a couple of feet) use oil to in order to maintain a consistent look as it aged? The mantel is currently primed with latex primer if that makes a difference.

Another place i have a gate (inside the house, not outdoors) to paint which will get a lot of use with people going through as well as cats clawing their way over the door. Would oil paint hold up better than latex here? The gate is currently bare pine (not primed yet) and will be painted white.

Thanks!

[jziegler]

Eric,

I'm not an expert but I'll chime in (again) anyway. Stuff will stick to a regular latex paint. Just the way it dries. The paint that I've been using for trim recently is Sherwin Williams Pro Classic Acrylic (there is also an alkyd version) and it will not have that problem. I think that most enamels will be OK. It's also been mentioned around here before that you can use a latex paint and then do a clear coat (polycrylic or similar) on top.

For the gate, Sherwin Williams claims that the Pro classic give finish and durability similar to oil paints. Only time will tell on that one.

Any other good quality paint brand (not Behr or Glidden) will probably have a similar enamel of some sort. I use Sherwin Williams because they are the closest paint store to my house, and the staff are pretty knowledgable about their products.

Jim

[mmgross144]

Mantle - top oil or latex?

Hijacking this thread for a similar question...

How does the durability of oil compare to latex? I'm repainting my fireplace mantel, which will have stuff sitting on it most of the time, some items likely to be several pounds. Would stuff stick to or leave marks on latex? If oil is the right paint for this, should all the trim around it (base boards that run up to it and windows within a couple of feet) use oil to in order to maintain a consistent look as it aged? The mantel is currently primed with latex primer if that makes a difference.

Another place i have a gate (inside the house, not outdoors) to paint which will get a lot of use with people going through as well as cats clawing their way over the door. Would oil paint hold up better than latex here? The gate is currently bare pine (not primed yet) and will be painted white.

Hope that helps:
Anything heavy placed on "latex" (no latex anymore, now its all acrylic, vinyl, or a blend with fillers (clay) if its cheap) will not only stick, but will leave a permenant imprint. Use alkyd enamel on the top only and match colors with the same brands acrylic for the rest. IF your mantel is white, and doesn't get any UV light, it will yellow with age...all alkyds/oils do. If you have the paint store shoot a few drops of purple tint into the oil paint it helps a bit with the yellowing. Another option is Benjamin Moore's Satin Impervo (waterbourne). It levels like oil, and will probably give you the hardest finish of the waterbased paints. Sherwin Williams Architectural Acrylic is a similar finish, but it drys faster and may "pull" if you over-brush it, so you need to work fast.

As afr as the gate goes, oil/alkyd is a harder finish, but NOTHING short of steel or stone will withstand the sharpness of a cats claws...it has to do with the hardness of the substrate, not the coating.