Does Good Paint Make a Difference to Professional Painting Contractors?

When you start looking for Dupage County, Illinois painting contractors, it’s usually because you’ve decided that your home or business needs repairs and painting. But, how to you get the best deal on the paint job?

Often, people will cut corners by purchasing, or requiring the painting contractor to purchase less expensive paint for the job. This can be a significant savings of sometimes $10 to $15 per gallon.

But, is this really the best way to save money on your painting contractor’s estimate? Believe it or not, you’ll probably save money by purchasing top quality paint, and having a professional painting contractor do the work.

Characteristics of Quality Paint

All paints contain 3 elements: binders, solvents, and pigments.

Binders in Paints

All paints must have binders in them. When the paint finally dries, the binder is the part left. It “binds” to the painted surface. Most binders are resins. These resins can be either natural, such a oils, or synthetic, such as melamines, latex, polyesters, polyurethanes, and acrylics.

For oil-based paints, the oils, such as tung oil, linseed oil, or alkyd resins will be the primary binders. In Latex paints, the binders will either be vinyl acrylic or 100% acrylic.

Solvents in Paints

The solvents in paint keep everything suspended, and in liquid form. If your painting contractor in Dupage County is using oil based paint, the solvent will be some kind of thinner. Latex paints have water as the solvent.

Pigments in Paints

Pigments provide texture to the paint as well as providing color and opacity. A high quality paint will use iron oxide and titanium dioxide as the pigment. Low quality paints will use clay and silica. Clay and silica don’t have the same texture as the oxides and dioxides. They can’t be ground as finely, either, and won’t hold up to the elements.

Test Your Paint

One simple test that professional painting contractors use is simply to touch the paint. If you get a dab of the paint on your finger and rub it between your finger and thumb, what does it feel like? If it feels gritty, it’s a cheap paint. If it’s silky feeling, it’s a high quality paint.

Characteristics of Quality Paint

So, aside from having better pigments, and feeling nice and smooth, what are the benefits of a high quality paint?

A high quality paint will have the oxide and dioxide pigments in it. This not only makes the paint smoother, the colors will remain true and clear, without becoming chalky. But, in addition, a quality paint will have additives in it to improve the viscosity and application. The paint will be less runny. Thicker paint will brush and roll on better, providing a heavier application to your walls, woodwork, and trims.

Some additives reduce mold and mildew growth. This is particularly useful in Dupage County, with the annual rainfall contributing to the growth of mildew under eaves and in high-humidity areas of the home. Other additives will thin latex paint so that it will flow easily through a sprayer without compromising the quality of the paint. These additives will make the paint smooth and easy to atomize without making it runny.

Your painting contractor may want to use a retarder additive. This slows done the drying time, keeping the paint pigment moist until it forms a more cohesive paint film. This also improves the quality of the brush application of the paint, creating smooth, attractive surfaces.

The End Game

In the end, a higher quality paint will look better, longer than cheap paint. To find a painter in Dupage County, IL, contact Pristine Painting. Pristine Painting serves Dupage County and the surrounding area, including:

• Dupage County

• Addison

• Bloomingdale

• Downers Grove

• Lisle

• Milton

• Naperville

• Wayne

• Wheaton

• Winfield

• York

• McHenry

• Schamburg

• Kane County

• Montgomery