Re: Painting Doors - Latex vs. enamel

Ok......here goes:

Oil is harder - which is good and bad - it is harder to scratch - but it chips more easily.

If you are using white - oil will yellow - latex won't

Oil levels better - so it shows fewer brush marks - but it tends to be a little thin - so it is more likely to sag.

Tough call really - there are pros and cons to each.

I personally like either an eggshell oil (Ultra-Hide 1512) or an ICI product called Ultra-Hide Lo-Lustre (latex).

You also might try a new product ICI introduced last year - Advanced Alkyd - flows, levels, and is hard - like an alkyd - but cleans up with soap and water - has little odor - and dries to the touch in about 4 hours.

I have only limited experience with the Advanced Alkyd - but it appears to work as advertised.

These products are available at an ICI Paints Store.

Mr. Paint

Paint interior wooden doors with enamel-- easier to clean if people put their dirty hands on it.

Oh.......lets clear up something here too.

"Enamel" (in common paint parlance) refers to ANY hard washable finish - LATEX OR OIL!

MR. Paint

I would go with an acrylic/latex semi-gloss or gloss on doors as it will hold good and not yellow like the oil based paints will. I use to use oils but have switched to acrylic and am glad I did. If you use a good quality brush from either Wooster or Purdy the finish will dry smooth and without alot a brush marks and you can add some Floetrol to the paint to slow the dry down a bit and that will help also. Don't let this worry you because painters have been adding Penetrol to their oil based paints for years to do the same thing.
Happy painting.

The advantages of oil paint are diminishing as manufacturers produce more wear-resistent latex paints. Doors get dirtier and require more frequent cleaning. You want a resilient paint finish so that 1) dirt and grime does not embed into the paint and 2) the paint can be cleaned easily without "rubbing" it off. Top-quality latex paint is ggo denough to do so. Moreover, staying with latex is preferable if you want to change colors down the road. Latex is just easier to deal with.

As the previous post implied, whether it is oil or latex is not the only variable. Semi-glossy finishes will clean up better than matte/satin/eggshell finishes.

Your dreaming if you think latex wears as good as oil