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AZ Nomad[_2_] AZ Nomad[_2_] is offline
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Default Latex paint doesn't crack??

On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:42:11 -0500, Norminn wrote:
Percival P. Cassidy wrote:


Finally found a "real paint store" that sells Benjamin Moore exterior
paint in 5-gallon pails.

Store employee asked what I was planning to paint over -- oil or
latex. I replied that I didn't know because it was already on the
house when we bought it, and (unlike with many of the interior paints)
the previous owner hadn't left any of the exterior paint.

Store employee asked if the existing paint was cracking. I said that
it was, and she said, "Then it must be oil based, because latex paints
don't crack."

Is that true? So if I prep properly and paint with a 25-year warranty
latex, the only reason to repaint within that time would be that we
get tired of the color?

Perce


It might be possible for latex paint to crack, but I have never seen
that. The clerk was probably right. Latex, in my experience, peels
with a flexible,
filmy character. Latex flexes a little bit on expanding/contracting;
oil less. That is why it appears it might be oil.


Is this an old home? Wood siding? Moisture damage? I would expect -
and I am not a house painter - that if you scrape all loose paint,
clean it properly, prime, it would be ok to use latex. Make sure it is
dry when you paint, not in hot sun, and follow all the label instructions.


and don't put latex over enamel without serious prep or it will come
off in sheets.