Homeowners love a product that makes do-it-yourself renovations simple. Often they ask, “is this product water-based?” And for good reason. Water-based paints have a lot of advantages versus other kinds of paints. Let’s break down those perks that aspiring DIY-ers may want to consider when choosing products for their home renovations.
Why water-based paints keep your projects simple and easy
1. Water-based paints dry quickly.
The wait for gorgeous homes shouldn’t last too long. A water-based formulation generally allows paints to dry and cure faster than solvent-based counterparts.
Because of this, you get to enjoy repainted spaces much sooner. It’s why painters enjoy using Boysen Roofgard, a water-based paint. While dedicated for roofs, it’s also painted on other metal surfaces like gates and railings. It dries faster than other paints for metal surfaces, while still coating a corrosion-resistant finish.
2. The products are usually used as-supplied and don’t need thinning.
A product that’s use-as-supplied means you don’t need to add anything else before application. In certain types of paints, thinners or reducers are often added to make the coating easier to apply. On the other hand, most water-based paints that you can use for your DIY renovation projects, have good viscosity as is. If you really do need to reduce the paint, you only need to add a maximum of half a liter of clean water for every four liters of paint.
Note that this feature does not apply for Boysen Acqua Epoxy, a two-component system that needs a catalyst to be mixed with the paint. Still, it’s an acrylic-epoxy paint, providing outstanding durability for surfaces that experience vehicular abrasion and foot traffic, while having other features of being a water-based paint.
3. Clean-up becomes easy.
Painter’s tape and drop cloths are essentials for any renovation project. Having those tools ensures clean finishes. For those surfaces you don’t want paint on, tape also protects those from painting mistakes. Though, there could still be spills, drips or splatters sometimes.
When these happen, you only need water to clean up stains caused by the paint themselves (so long as it hasn’t dried yet). You don’t need to use a separate thinner product as a designated clean-up solvent. That makes it convenient for you when you want to minimize exposure from a thinner’s strong odor. It also makes cleaning your brushes and rollers easier.
4. Most water-based paints are odorless and low in VOCs.
Many homeowners, whether getting experts for the job or doing it themselves, specifically look for products that don’t have strong smells. As much as possible, folks do not want renovations to interrupt their daily life. Water-based paints are often what they look for, due to how most of these paints are low in volatile organic compounds (or VOCs) and lack strong smells that make renovations quite bothersome.
A product for concrete walls, Boysen Healthy Home is the prime example of a water-based paint that is low-VOC and odorless. With its antibacterial properties, painting safer home spaces should also include a safer means to paint.
5. Flammability is not an issue.
Lacquers, enamel paints and epoxy paints are flammable substances. They provide various durable and gorgeous finishes to different types of surfaces, but must be applied and stored properly away from nearby sources of fire.
It’s particularly dangerous to paint or varnish in spaces with poor ventilation. Not only are the strong smells trapped, enclosed spaces also make it hard to put out flames caused by these flammable substances.
Water-based paints help minimize fire risk, and are ideal for spaces that do not have good ventilation.
Make the Most of Water-Based Paints for Your Home Improvements
Check out below the infographic that summarizes the general features of water-based paints. It’s a reminder of the things that you need to look for in a product.
We sometimes take these benefits for granted. With this comprehensive explanation of the properties of water-based paints, hopefully this will help you to deepen your knowledge so that choosing paint products for your DIY projects becomes easier.
Got a project planned? Check out the Choose Your Paint tool from the Boysen website to know which products to use for your home.
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