Years ago, painters who worked with oil-based paints, lacquers, and varnishes in poorly ventilated spaces didn’t last long in the trade. A serious whiff of the solvents in those products would spin your brain and stagger your feet. Fortunately, most of the paint sold in this country today is water based, which is a lot less hazardous to use and cleans up with soapy water. The best latex paint contains a large amount of acrylic resin. Vinyl acrylic is the second-best choice. Vinyl resin is the least durable option.
Oil-based paints are still around but are mainly used by professional painters. Even among pros, alkyd paints containing synthetic resins have largely replaced oil-based paints. Alkyds are great when you want a glossy surface, but they are harder to apply than latex paints, take longer to dry, and are more work to clean up (requiring paint thinner).
Usually, there are three grades of paint: Good-quality paint has a 10-year warranty, better-quality paint offers 15 years, and best-quality paint offers 20 years. Flat-finish paint has more pigment than gloss paint, so it covers better than gloss but also wears faster. That said, when evaluating two similar products (different brands of flat-finish latex paint, for example), a higher content of solids indicates a better-quality product. However, don’t compare across categories, such as flat to gloss.
One problem with paint is that it contains solvents, which release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air as they evaporate. These compounds can make some people sick. Latex paints contain far lower levels of solvents than alkyds, but they can still be bothersome to some people. If fumes are a problem for you, choose one of the low-VOC paints on the market (see Resources on p. 279).To minimize indoor fumes, keep the windows open and run a good fan to promote ventilation.
or the other or right in the center, as necessary. At this point, some folks like to apply another coat to give a texture to the walls before painting. Texturing is common in the west and southwest. It is usually done by blowing a thin mixture of drywall mud onto the walls using an air compressor.
STEP 6 PAINT THE CEILINGS AND WALLS
Our prairie home seldom, if ever, had any paint on the exterior. The siding became as grained and leathery as the faces of the inhabitants. Indoors, we sometimes used a dry powder, called Kalsomine, that we mixed with water and used to paint the ceilings and walls. Kalsomine came in different colors, which added a bit to our rooms and to our lives.
After I left home, it seemed that the only interior paint color in existence was Navajo White. For years, the interior of every house we built was painted this off-white color. It was a breath of fresh air to see all the bright colors that exploded in the late 1960s and early 1970s. From bland to bright to subtle pastels and now back to Navajo White—so much for progress.
Paint prep is the key to a good paint job
Professional painters know from experience that the biggest part of a paint job is the preparation. You don’t just grab a bucket of paint and a roller and have at it. Take time to remove doors from their jambs before you start painting the walls and ceilings. Number or label the doors so you’ll know later where each one belongs.
Some drywall jobs create lots of dust that must be removed before you can paint. I use a vacuum cleaner to remove dust from the walls and ceilings, but a broom or a pole sander wrapped with a cotton cloth also works well. Take it easy, because topping compound is relatively soft and easily scratched. Pay special attention to dust in the corners. Remove any drywall mud or dust left in electrical outlets, and scrape up any globs of drywall compound
