Different Types of House Paint Explained

There are so many different types of house paint, and when it comes to starting a new paint project, knowing where to begin can be overwhelming.

Here’s our guide to the most common types of house paint.

Common Types of House Paint

Primer Paint

Strictly speaking, primer isn’t a type of paint, but it is necessary for many painting projects, and you’ve probably come across it when browsing the paint aisle of your local hardware store. Primer is what you apply before anything else. It helps paint adhere to the surface, and ensures your colour comes out true. Primer comes as water-based or oil-based – use the same base for the primer as your chosen paint.

Oil-based and Water-based House Paint

As the name suggests, oil-based paints are made with oil, and water-based with water. Generally, oil-based paints are more durable, shiny, and take longer to dry, and water-based paints are thinner, matte, and take less time to dry.

Also keep in mind that removing oil-based paints requires harsh chemicals, whereas removing water-based paints does not.

Interior and Exterior House Paint

Most paint tins are labeled interior or exterior. This is a guide as to where to paint is best used. Interior paints are usually water-based, and exterior paints are usually oil-based.

Enamel Paint

Oil-based paints are sometimes given the name ‘enamel’ because of their durability. Enamel paints can be found in a variety of finishes, including gloss and semi-gloss, and are often used on trims around windows and doors. One drawback of enamel paint is that is tends to discolour over time.

Latex Paint

Latex paint refers to water-based paint, even though there is no latex in the paint at all.

Acrylic Paint

Acrylic paint is another name for water-based paint, with the addition of acrylic as the binding agent. Acrylic paint comes in a number of varieties:

• Acrylic latex
• Acrylic enamel
• Acrylic latex enamel

Acrylic enamel paints are not a mixture of water-based and oil-based paint. The name is given due to the enhanced durability of the paint.

Always check the tin when purchasing acrylic paint, as the name does not necessarily mean the paint actually contains acrylic or latex.

Specialty House Paints

The above types of house paints can have additives included to give it a certain feature. Some include:

• Anti-mold or anti-mildew
• Fire retardants
• Anti-condensation

Get Your House Painted

If you want to skip the research and get straight to the results, leave your house painting up to our team of expert local Brisbane painters. Give us a call on 07 3829 5735 or fill out the form on this page. We’d be delighted to give you a detailed fixed price quote. Find out more about how we treat our customers and our complete quality guarantee on our About Us page.