Oil vs. Latex Paint

Painting for Homeowners: Tips & Tricks

9/22/2016

Our blogger friend, Betsy of Happily Ever After Etc, recently published an eBook, Inside the Paint Can. She sent us an advance copy to preview.

Her book is based on her years of experience as the “paint lady” at her local paint store. Because she continually answers the same questions asked by her customers, she decided to answer those questions in an easy to reference source. Check it out—novice to experienced painters can find valuable information inside.

We decided to try out one of the tips she writes about in the section about Oil vs. Latex Paint. Check out the video above to watch!

I (Vicki) have a vintage wrought iron patio set of two chairs and a coffee table that needed to be repainted. The chairs had previously been painted but were chipping badly, which, after reading Betsy’s book, made me think that maybe the original finish of the metal was oil based paint and that was why the paint was not sticking.

Painting Tips and Tricks. MotherDaughterProjects.com

To test for oil paint, use a small amount of a latex paint remover and wipe it on the paint. We used it to test something we knew was latex. Yep, the paint came right off.

Then we tested the table. Same thing, the paint came right off--latex paint. Evidently the type of paint on the original piece was not the problem which caused the newer paint to flake. We surmised that the slick surface was probably not prepped properly so we decided to treat it like oil based paint and prepped accordingly.

We followed Betsy’s mantra “clean, dull, dry” before we attempted to paint. Clean and dry the table and top.

Sand flaking paint/rust.

Apply Rust Reformer which instantly converts rust to a paintable, protected surface.

Spray on oil based primer- let dry. Oil based primers are universal, meaning your final coat can be oil or latex based. If using a latex primer you can only cover that with a latex paint. Oil based primers are great for slicker surfaces like this table.

Finish with oil rubbed bronze.

For the top, we wanted to give it a texture finish so we applied Henry’s Premixed Patch n'Level. This product produces a very imprecise finish and shows every line and mark, so it’s not a choice for those that require a perfectly smooth result! (I had to be okay with the imperfections—note, the product dries beige—I did a quick wash with watered down metallic paint to give it a little color and sealed everything with the Rust-Oleum triple glaze finish.)

With the weather getting a little cooler here in Florida, I’m ready to tackle the two chairs especially since the table turned out so well.

We will be writing about another one of Betsy’s tips in a subsequent post. Look for that soon.

Materials/Tools:

Krud Kutter, brush, hose to clean
Sandpaper and power sander
Rust-Oleum Rust Reformer
Zinsser Oil Based Primer
Rust-Oleum Oil Rubbed Bronze
Henry’s Premixed Patch n'Level for the table top

Please note: We are not sponsored by any of the companies/products that we used. These products were picked and bought by us.

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don’t claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

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