Water-based paint has long been successfully used not only in interior design, but also for outdoor work. But in recent years, water-based formulations are experiencing a rebirth. Designers took notice. Such paints began to rapidly gain popularity, displacing various paints and varnishes produced on the basis of harmful solvents.
The unsafe oil paint, as well as nitro enamels, which were often used in our country during the Soviet era, have practically disappeared. Water-based paint for walls and ceilings is a composition with small polymer particles embedded (but not dissolved) in water, additives, fillers and pigments. After applying the paint to the wall (or ceiling) and further evaporation of the water (in other words, after the composition dries), a hard and dense polymer film is formed that adheres strongly to the base.
What is attractive about this coating?
Aqueous emulsion paint for walls and ceilings is universal: it can be used for finishingsurfaces of any kind. These are plaster and drywall, wood and brick, wallpaper for painting (especially glass) and concrete.
When choosing the required water-based composition, it must be borne in mind that there are several main types of water-based paints intended for finishing different rooms. They have their own advantages and disadvantages. In this article, we will talk about all the pros and cons that water-based paint for walls and ceilings has, how to choose the right composition, calculate the required amount of this material, and, of course, discuss how to properly apply the product to the surface.
What are water-based paints?
Water-based compounds fall into several categories. Let's get to know them in more detail.
Acrylic paints
This is the most popular and commonly used type of coverage. Acrylic water-based paint for walls and ceilings is resistant to external influences. This is largely due to the presence of acrylic resins in its composition. When dirty, it can be washed. Therefore, it is ideal for decorating residential areas, offices, etc.
Features of acrylic paints:
- Suitable for any interior and exterior use acrylic paint for walls and ceilings. Consumption - from 100 to 200 grams per square meter (depending on the manufacturer's company).
- Application on alkaline bases (plaster) is allowed only after the surface has completely dried. This is explained bythe hardening process of the plaster layer is quite long, at least 30 days.
- Low gas permeability, good corrosion protection for reinforced concrete.
- Not suitable for finishing rooms with damp walls and poor waterproofing of the foundation. In this case, silicate and silicone paints are more suitable.
Silicone resin paints
It is the presence of silicone resins that makes these formulations expensive. They can be used for application on any mineral coatings. The main advantage of this paint is elasticity: it paints over cracks up to two millimeters. Silicone paints are vapor-permeable and, last but not least, microbes do not breed on such a coating.
All this allows the use of silicone compounds in rooms where the humidity is quite high: showers, bathrooms, kitchens, basements, etc. Due to the filling of roughness and irregularities, this paint is resistant to temperature and mechanical stress, humidity. It can be applied directly to plaster without priming the surface.
Silicate paints
This is a mixture consisting of an aqueous solution, liquid glass and colored pigments. Its main advantages include the absence of a surface film, which is replaced by strong chemical-physical bonds. They are very resistant to mechanical and atmospheric influences. Manufacturers of silicate paints guarantee a long service life of these compositions - about twenty years. Such paintsexcellent for exterior decoration of open terraces and facades of buildings.
Polyvinyl acetate paint
This paint is very popular because of the very affordable price and high quality. It is made on the basis of PVA and is intended for interior finishing work.
Benefits:
- Gets great on cardboard, plaster, wood and other porous materials.
- Can be used in rooms requiring a high level of fire safety.
- Does not contain harmful components, explosion and fireproof.
- It has not a very large color palette, but special additives will help to give it any shade. The use of additives allows you to get a matte or glossy surface.
- Dries fast.
Mineral Paints
Mineral water-based paint for walls and ceilings based on cement and slaked lime and used for painting concrete and brick surfaces. The disadvantage of these compositions is a short service life, so recently they have been losing their popularity.
Latex-based washing water-based paint
If you need a surface that is completely unaffected by moisture, then you will need a water-based paint for walls, ceilings, washable. To obtain this effect, latex is added to paints at the factory. As a result, it withstands over five thousand wet cleanings, while conventional paintscan only be wiped occasionally. Therefore, it is suitable for painting ceilings and walls in the kitchen, bathroom. This subspecies of acrylic paints belongs to the middle price category.
The advantage of these compositions is not only excellent water-repellent properties, but also the ability to cover fairly large cracks (two coats of paint easily cover cracks up to one millimeter), so thorough preparation with putty is not required before application.
Washable water-based paint for ceilings and walls of the following brands is popular today:
- "Expert";
- "EkoDom";
- Dall;
- "Premier";
- Alpalux.
Gloss level
Water-based paint for walls and ceilings differs in one more indicator - the degree of gloss. To date, manufacturers offer:
- deep matte;
- glossy;
- matte;
- semi-matte (silky matte);
- high gloss;
- semi-gloss.
Gloss and semi-gloss paints are more resistant to abrasion than matte and deep matte paints. Paints with a glossy effect can be washed much more often. This is due to the fact that the surface of such paint is perfectly smooth and even. Cleaning with a damp cloth does little to change its texture on a micro level, while matte paint can be wiped off quickly, resulting in unsightly glossy spots on the surface. In this case, the surfacewill have to be repainted.
Water-based paint for walls, ceilings: characteristics
Before purchasing a water-based paint, it is necessary to study its characteristics: composition, consumption, viscosity, drying time, specific gravity, storage conditions, expiration date.
Viscosity
An important indicator that should be quite high. It determines the degree of dilution of the composition with water. When applied with a brush, this indicator ranges from 40 to 45 s, when using a paint sprayer - from 20 to 25 s.
Expense
Is 150 grams per square meter, 250 grams for two coats. Often, manufacturers unintentionally mislead buyers by indicating that their water-based paint for walls and ceilings has a consumption of 110-140 grams per square meter. Such indicators correspond to ideal conditions - a well-plastered, perfectly smooth wall, covered with a thin layer of paint. In reality, the consumption usually depends on the material of the treated surface, its roughness, absorbency and the method of painting. For example, roller application is much more economical than brush application.
Drying time
This indicator depends on humidity and air temperature. Optimum air humidity is 65%, temperature is +20 °C. Drying time ranges from 2 to 24 hours.
Expiration date
Most manufacturers indicate the shelf life of their products is 24 months from the date of manufacture. Whereinstorage conditions must be observed: provide a place protected from heat and prevent freezing.
How do you define quality?
One of the indicators of the quality performance of water-based formulations is their cost. Considering that 90% of the components and materials used for the production of acrylic and water-based paints are imported to our country from Europe, then the price of one liter of paint cannot be less than 70 rubles. A significant reduction in this cost may be due to a significant reduction in product quality.
There is another indicator of quality - the weight of the paint. Its average density ranges from 1.35 to 1.5 kilograms per liter, so a ten-liter bucket should not weigh less than fifteen kilograms. Water-based paint for walls and ceilings should not be purchased on the market, especially in winter, in unheated rooms - when freezing and further thawing, the paint loses its properties.
Producers
It is important to choose the right well-known, well-established manufacturer of water-based paint. Today, Dulux (Great Britain) is the undisputed leader in our market, Tikkurila water-based paint for walls and ceilings (Finland) is distinguished by excellent technical characteristics and high quality, Dufa paints (Germany) are no less popular, good quality, but rather high prices have compositions Johnstone's (Great Britain). Fromdomestic products, we recommend that you pay attention to "Admiral" and "Eurolux" (Russia).
Painting walls and ceilings with water-based paint
As a rule, there are no problems with painting the walls, but finishing the ceiling is a more technically complicated process. Before starting work, it is necessary to prepare the surface - remove the remnants of the old coating, sand and level. After this work, paint consumption will decrease significantly.
A water-based paint diluted 30-40% with water can also be a primer, but it is better to use a quality primer for your type of surface.
Colored water-based paint for walls and ceilings needs preliminary testing to understand what its actual color will be. Apply a thin layer of a small amount of paint on the wall and wait for it to dry. As a rule, the color turns out to be several tones lighter than in the bucket.
Painting walls and ceilings with water-based paint starts from the far corner of the room from the window, after that it is necessary to paint over the remaining corners and joints of the ceiling and walls: a strip about five centimeters wide is applied around the perimeter of the ceiling. After that, the roller or spray gun starts working.
To make the color even, it is better to apply two or even three thin coats rather than one too thick one. It is important to know that the layers of paint should be superimposed perpendicular to each other. Each subsequent layer is applied after the final drying of the previously applied one. The last layer should be applied parallel to the light rays, away from the window. Thanks to this little trick, errors and small irregularities will be hardly noticeable.
To completely eliminate problems with errors, use textured glass. Woven textured surface perfectly masks all the errors when painting. It is not difficult to paint the walls, the ceiling with water-based paint, this work takes a little time and at the same time you can create an original interior.
