Wome improvement

There's A

For That

Check your options
before choosing your paint.

I

n times past, the biggest decision for any
painter was which color to use. But thanks
to steady technological advances, we now
have the luxury of choosing paints that offer
not just a near-limitless rainbow of hues, but
also the exact appearance and performance
qualities needed for virtually any interior
paint job.
"There's been a near-explosion of options
when it comes to water-based latex coat-
ings," says Debbie Zimmer, paint and color
expert at the Paint Quality Institute. "Today,
you can choose from a wide array of sheen
levels, each of which offers different benefits,
plus specially formulated coatings designed
to speed your painting and meet almost any
challenge imaginable."
With that in mind, if you're about to
undertake an interior painting project, try to
conjure up the absolute perfect paint for your
needs. You'll likely be able to find that ideal
paint at your local paint retailer, and knowing
exactly what you want beforehand will make
things far easier when you get to the store.
Let's say that you have limited time to

10 Floor Space Magazine •

November 2013

complete your project — maybe you can
work only on the weekend, or you have com-
pany arriving from out of town. A self-priming
paint (one that serves as both primer and
paint) can hide even hard-to-conceal colors
with fewer coats than normally required,
enabling you to more quickly finish your
project before returning to work or greeting
your guests.
Or, maybe your house is full of little ones
who tend to leave marks and fingerprints
wherever they go. By choosing a high-sheen,
top-quality 100 percent acrylic latex paint,
you'll get a tough finish with exceptional stain
resistance — giving your walls and woodwork
a fighting chance to remain clean and fresh-
looking no matter what they encounter.
What if the room you plan to paint has a
variety of different surfaces — for example,
vinyl doors, wood trim and walls made of
plaster or drywall? Rather than buying sev-
eral different kinds of paint, you can simply
purchase a "universal" coating such as a high-
end latex paint made with 100 percent acrylic
that performs well on many different materi-

als. It will provide exceptional adhesion even
to slick surfaces like vinyl. (Purchasing just
one type of paint will likely pay dividends at
the cash register, too.)
Have walls or woodwork full of little nicks
and imperfections? Then choose a totally
"flat" paint, which will dry to a non-reflective,
matte finish. Its lack of sheen will make those
minor imperfections far less noticeable.
Are you a stickler for color? Then you'll
want to choose paint with good color reten-
tion — like a quality acrylic coating — or
watch helplessly as your carefully selected
shades fade into pastels as time passes.
According to Zimmer, today's paint manu-
facturers have anticipated all of these needs
and more, and have formulated coatings to
meet each and every challenge. Take time
to consider your needs, try to imagine the
characteristics of your perfect paint, and
you'll likely find it sitting on a shelf at your
local paint store.

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Courtesy of the Paint Quality Institute