Fewer changes have a more dramatic effect on your home than repainting the walls. In fact, This Old House states, “paint ranks among the most DIY-friendly—and thrifty—home-improvement materials.” When planning a painting project, it can be easy to get lost in the excitement of choosing the perfect color and not think much further. However, the quality of paint you use matters just as much as its color. Quality affects not only price, but how much time you’ll spend painting and how long your hard work (and hard earned dollars) will last. According to Consumer Report, “Our tests find that economy grades of interior paint don’t perform well overall, and you may need to apply three or four coats to cover dark colors.”
6 Reasons to Use High-Quality Paint
Some basic terminology can help explain why high quality paint makes life easier. Paints are made up of: additives, binders, solvents, colerant, and pigments. Additives improve the performance of the paint by giving it qualities such as mildew resistance. Binders are resins that turn the liquid paint into a solid when it dries, and solvents keep the paint a liquid until you use it. Colorant is the liquid tint than gives paint its color, while pigments are powdered minerals that give paint the ability to cover what’s on the wall beneath it.
So, how do these materials stack up in high quality paint and make your painting experience better?
1. High-Quality Paints Have More Additives
High quality paints keeps your paint job nicer longer with additives that prevent damage such as mildew and spoiling.
2. High-Quality Paints Include Better Binders
In high quality paint, binders are made from a finer material, so it gets into the surface’s pores more easily and penetrates deeper. Strong acting resins protect your painted walls from scuffing, fading, mildew, bubbling, cracking, blistering, and chalking.
3. High-Quality Paint is Thicker & Smoother
Cheap paint has more water than high quality paint. As a result, high quality paint is thicker, so the paint goes on smoother and more evenly, making the finished product look better.
4. High-Quality Pigments Are Better
High quality paint uses titanium oxide, which is a fine white powder. Cheap paints use clay or silica, which are bigger particles and therefore require more coats to cover the wall your painting.
The list doesn’t stop there! The benefits of high quality paint don’t end with each materials’ characteristics, but are also a result of the whole. In addition to what we’ve mentioned above, high quality paints:
5. High-Quality Paint Requires Less Time and Labor
Lower quality paints use lower quality materials, requiring at least 3 coats of paint. This means more time and labor for you!
6. High-Quality Paint Takes Longer to Dry (Which is Good)
This might seem counterintuitive given our inclination to believe faster is better, however, a longer drying time makes brush strokes less visible.
For more information about how high-quality paint can improve your painting project or for help picking the perfect paint color for your home, visit your local Jones Paint & Glass location.
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