What is the difference between outdoor and indoor paint? The winter months can take their toll on the external paintwork of your home, especially if it’s been a few years since your home was last painted. This may make you feel like getting out the brushes and the paint and getting to work. You may feel like it’s time to refresh the internal paintwork of your home as well.

As spring approaches many people find it a good time to spritz up their home a little. If this is you, then you may be faced with questions like paint or flooring first? What is the difference between outdoor and indoor paint? What color should I choose? We are going to take a look at one of these questions in more detail; what exactly is the difference between the paint you use to paint outside and the paint you use to paint inside?

What are the attributes of outdoor paint?

The first thing it’s important to say is that not so many years ago there was very little difference between the paint you would use on the outside of your home and the paint you would use internally. As technology has progressed so things have changed. Today, if you purchase a paint that is marked for external use you should expect it to have certain attributes. Paint that is manufactured for use on the exterior of your home is created to be resilient. After all, it needs to be able to withstand natural occurrences such as sun, wind, rain and mildew. In order to make this happen the levels of resin and pigment in the paint are raised. This in turn means that the paint is high in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which are expelled from the paint. Generally most of this expulsion happens in the first forty-eight hours after painting, but it continues at a lower rate after that point. VOCs have a detrimental effect on the air quality and can have an adverse effect on human health. You can see why these paints are created to be used outside.

What are the attributes of interior paint? 

As you might expect, interior paints are created to be low VOC or zero VOC. This is important in preserving the air quality in your home. Interior paints are intended to be more delicate than exterior paints, but they are intended to be abrasion resistant. The amount of washing and scrubbing that interior paint will endure is directly related to the level of gloss in its finish. Flat paints are the easiest to apply but they do not withstand as much cleaning; whereas high gloss paints are generally harder to apply but can be cleaned more aggressively.

Although indoor and outdoor paints may look similar on occasion, you can see there are important differences. It’s important to make sure you look at the tin when you are purchasing paint, to make sure it is the right type for the job you want to do.

This post is seriously getting me geared up for spring, and all the painting the hubby and I want and need to do on our home we bought a few months ago. I love home improvement and making things new, pretty and fresh. 

image sourc here

Thank you all for visiting today, I hope this post helps you all with your next paint, brush, and roller.. projects. 

jen