Know Your Exterior Paints – Acrylic Paint

acrylic paint colourful

Painting your home’s exterior isn’t a small undertaking, and you want to know you’ve picked the right paint for the job. Choosing an acrylic paint for your house exterior is a great choice, for many reasons.

Why choose acrylic paint?

Oil based paints contain flammable solvents and a high level of volatile organic compounds (VOC), usually mineral turpentine, which evaporates as the paint dries on the wall. This can produce a strong odour, and takes longer dry. The UV durability of oil-based paint can be low, so your painted exterior may discolour and become chalky over time. Oil-based paints are also less flexible and can become brittle as they age, which means they aren’t always the best choice for painting timber, due to potential cracking.

Acrylic paint is a water-based paint that’s non-flammable and has a lower amount of VOC; most of the solvent used in an acrylic paint is water, which means less odour. Acrylic paint is usually dry to touch within 30-60 minutes of application, making it much quicker to recoat – you can usually allow 2-3 hours between coats, which makes the painting process much faster.

Acrylic paint for your home’s exterior

exterior acrylic paint

Using an acrylic paint is a great choice for painting your home’s exterior because of its durability and higher UV resistance, which is important given South Queensland’s hot climate and weather conditions. You’ll notice after applying an acrylic paint to your exterior that it has less sheen than you’d achieve with an oil-based paint, but the sheen it has will last longer which makes it more practical. Because acrylic paints are water-based, they have more flexibility in their finish; as the substrate expands and contracts in various weather conditions, the paint moves with it. This makes acrylic paint particularly ideal for painting timber exteriors.

Weather factors to consider with acrylic paint

When using an acrylic paint on your home’s exterior, you need to be mindful of the weather conditions you’re painting in. Water-based paints will dry quickly in hot weather, and slowly in cold weather, and humidity can also impact drying times and the quality of the finish.

Be aware also that while drying and curing, small light-coloured droplets can appear on the surface of a newly painted area. These droplets are a surfactant, which is drawn to the surface of the paint by moisture (whether rain, high humidity, steam or dew), and won’t impact your paint’s durability, just the appearance. To remove the droplets, wash the surface with sugar soap and rinse with plenty of water. The droplets may reappear, so just keep wiping them down until they stop doing so.

 

Knowing your paints, and when to call in the experts

Choosing the right paint for the job is important, and there are a lot of different types to choose from when painting your home’s exterior. If you aren’t sure whether an oil-based paint or a water-based product like acrylic paint is the better choice for your property, we’re here to help.

Here at Kraudelt Painting we’ll work with you to get the job done on time and on budget, and with minimal disruption. We’re certified to rigorous CM3 quality standards, so you know you’re working with the best in Brisbane. For exterior house painting by the experts, get in touch today.

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About Louise Kraudelt

Meet Louise Kraudelt, a knowledgeable and insightful author in the field of house painting. With a passion for sharing her expertise, Louise provides valuable information and tips on all aspects of commercial and house painting in this blog.

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