Painting a room or a house is a big responsibility to take upon the shoulders. There are so many things that one needs to know about painting before starting on the job. The first thing is the selection of the type of paint that is to be applied to the room. The main choice is between the oil-based and the water-based paints.

People have gone for oil-based paints traditionally due to their qualities of toughness and impermeability. The little detail to know about oil paints is that like water they do not dry by the method of evaporation. In fact, they dry by oxidation which transforms the oil into a polymer chain. This simply means that the result is long lasting and the effects of things like water and air are better withstood by the oil paints than any other variety of the paints. There are, however, some major drawbacks to the use of the oil paints. The first thing is the odor that lasts for a long time after the paint has been applied.  There are compounds present in the oil paints that can be a potential health hazard to the occupants if they stay exposed to the compounds that get released when the paint is drying. This is the main reason why there are many governments that are banning the use of the oil-based paints for rooms.

The water-based paints are the most in vogue nowadays. They are also known as the acrylic paints or latex paints. This is because they come with no such compounds that can affect the health of the person who is staying in the room. Besides, they have come a long way from their earlier inferior variants. Their drying time is much less than the oil-based paints.  The oil paints need at least two days to completely dry out during which the room cannot be used by the occupants. The water paints also do not generate much odor, and the room can be used by the residents in a very short duration of time.

The oil paints come with another major drawback- they are highly flammable, unlike their water counterparts. The remodeling contractors that do prefer the water-based paints for two main reasons. The first thing is that the care needed for the oil ones are much more than the water ones. The second thing deals with the thinning of the paint before applying. There are special kinds of thinners needed for the oil-based paints while the water-based ones can be diluted by using just some amount of water in the paint. So if one is looking to paint or repaint a room, he must research all the aspects of the paints that he is going for before deciding on the paint.

There is enough material available on the internet that can come in aid of anyone looking for some insight on the painting of a room. The only thing to do is research and read up before taking the step of painting the house.…