Interior painting is primarily designed to be cleaned, repainted, and make quick cleaning. Exterior paints are meant to fight against mildew and fading. However, when beginning a new painting project it’s important to understand the differences between these two and select the proper exterior paint for your project. By knowing the difference between exterior and interior paint you will be able to make an informed decision that will result in a high quality paint job that will last for years to come.
In order to properly compare the interior paint vs exterior paint, it’s important to take into account some basic facts. The most obvious difference is colour. Exterior paint comes in a wide array of colours ranging from basic whites to a wide spectrum of rich browns and nudes. While the interior variety tends to fall more in the mid-tone colours such as reds, oranges, tans, golds, andreens. It’s also important to note that the oil base used in non-oil-based paints will often bronze and develop an uneven sheen.
One of the biggest factors of interior or exterior paint is the type of the base with which it was applied. In the case of non-oil-based paints, the paint has to dry on its own, without the help of a professional. On the other hand, oil paints will need to have an oil base before they can dry and will often need to go through a process where a thin layer of clear lacquer is added to the top layer of oil paint in order to help it dry properly.
One of the main differences is moulding. Moulding is one of the most visible and unattractive problems associated with both oil and non-oil based paints. Exterior paints will often have a thick, unattractive paper like moulding built up around the outside of the art work. Interior paints tend to have a smooth, flat, matte finish and do not have any moulding issues.
Another main difference is in the quality of the pigments and binders used in interior paints. With oil paints, there are always bound water colors, dyes, and metallic pigments in the pigment. These types of pigments will fade over time. Non-oiled paints only contain oils as the main pigments, but these oils do not fade as easily as water-based pigments do.
Interior and exterior paints also have some other properties in common. Both will have to cure and dry fairly quickly after being applied. This means that the pigments can be applied very thick and still have time to settle before they are ready for use. The surface texture will also have a considerable effect on how well an interior paint will bond to a surface. Satins will usually have a much smoother and more even finish when applied to a smoother surface.