10 Pros and Cons of Plastic Paint in Buildings

Introduction

Plastic paint is one of the most popular colors used in building painting. In recent years, a considerable variety of plastic colors has helped all building painters to use it in various applications. This has valid and thoughtful reasons, which we will address below. Also, to choose the best color among those available in the market, you need to be familiar with the pros and cons of plastic paint in buildings.

Our goal at Top painters is to provide quick tutorials so that you can do your job excellently while saving money. We believe that increasing awareness across all segments of society contributes to our personal and social growth and promotes a culture of work. In this article, we have also highlighted important points to help you make this decision.

What is Plastic Paint?

Plastic paint has gained significant attention in building colors due to its widespread use. This type of paint in architectural models is of the emulsion structure. The main component of this paint is latex and it is available in two types: full plastic and semi-plastic.

Full plastic type is claimed by paint factories to be washable, but experience has shown that this claim is merely promotional, and paints with water-soluble solvents do not have a hundred percent washability. Therefore, employers who are inclined to wash their homes can only rely on oil-based paints.

The Most Consumed Plastic Paint

It can almost be said that the most consumed paint (of the types of plastic paint mentioned earlier) in this category is semi-plastic. A semi-plastic paint with a standard stamp has the following characteristics:

Resistant to water but not washable.
Economically affordable.
High efficiency for construction works.
Odorless and only mixed with water.
Have a wide variety.
Enhance the artistic ability of painters.
And more…

Therefore, the abundant use of this paint is observed in society.

Plastic Paint for New Plaster

When the plasterwork is fresh and has not been damaged, there is no need for any undercoating. However, if the walls or ceilings of the house are subject to significant issues such as plaster damage, remedial works such as undercoating need to be done. It is worth mentioning that sometimes the client requests these undercoatings from their hired painter, so being aware of them is not unwise:

Grade 1 linseed oil should be used for the plaster surface.
Then, one or two coats of complete plastering (mastic) should be applied.

Properties of Plastic Paint

Plastic paint is odorless and dries quickly. In buildings, plastic paint is commonly used for ceiling painting to reduce costs and to encounter fewer issues with heat and humidity. Additionally, according to experts and professionals in this field, plastic paint generally has better advantages compared to oil paint on ceilings.

Plastic Paint Solvent

One of the common questions about plastic paint is its solvent. Similar to oil paint, which needs to be mixed with oil, thinner, or petrol for various applications, plastic paint also needs to be mixed with its own solvent for better performance. Interestingly, the solvent for this type of paint is actually water. This combination enables the paint to easily achieve its high efficiency.

Important Tips for Using Plastic Paint

Every task has its subtle points that are handled by experts. If you’re an expert, then these pieces of information are just a review of your previous knowledge. But if you’re a beginner and learning to work with plastic paint, it’s better not to miss these tips. Here are 5 key points to consider when using plastic paint:

Regarding its drying time, it should be noted that it takes 24 hours for initial drying and a full 7 days for complete drying.
It’s advisable to leave a gap of more than 2 hours between each coat of painting.
If the paint accidentally touches a surface, you can use a damp cloth to clean it (this should be done before it dries).
The underlying surface must be thoroughly prepared to allow better absorption of the plastic paint and ensure a better paint coverage on the surface. Otherwise, over time, the surface may peel off.
It is recommended to use 150-grit sandpaper for sanding the surfaces before starting the job.

Advantages of Plastic Paint

Some of the advantages of plastic paint are as follows, which are considerable for everyone:

Painting buildings with plastic paint provides very high coverage on surfaces.
It has a very fast execution speed.
There is no unpleasant odor during work.
It easily mixes with water and does not require the use of oil-based solvents.
It offers a wide variety of colors.

Disadvantages of Plastic Paint

Everything can have its drawbacks, and plastic paint is no exception to this rule. The disadvantages of plastic paint are generally categorized into four points, which are presented below:

Compared to other paints, plastic paints have relatively lower durability and may require repainting after a short period of time.
They are not suitable for use on metal surfaces such as railings, doors, and windows. (Oil-based paint should be used for this purpose.)
They may undergo color changes due to sunlight exposure.
Their compatibility with rollers is lower compared to oil-based paints.

How to Use Plastic Paint

Since we strive to provide comprehensive tutorials to improve and enhance the knowledge of ordinary individuals and even dear specialists, we have also worked on plastic paint and provided tutorials on how to work with it. In the tutorial on using plastic paint, it should first be mentioned that plastic paint is the most affordable paint, and you should also know that in terms of execution, it is easier to work with than oil paint and enamel paint.

Plastic paint is usually available in both semi-plastic and full-plastic forms in the market, with full-plastic paint having higher quality and a slight washability capability.

If your base is plaster, you must first apply a coat of paint as a primer to prepare it for painting. But if the base has already been painted, you can start painting directly.

In the plastic paint tutorial, pay attention to the fact that preparing plastic paint is much, much easier than preparing oil paint and is similar to preparing plaster; first, pour some flour (plaster powder) into a container, add some plastic paint and water to it, and mix well. The plaster is ready. If it becomes loose, add more flour to it, and if it becomes too stiff, adjust it to the ideal consistency by adding more paint or water.

Principles of Painting with Plastic Paint

Priming: Cover the cracks on the wall. If the cracks are deep, fill them with plaster, and if they are superficial, spot them with putty. Remember that the filling capability of plastic putty is very weak and it cracks quickly. Use a suitable spatula and putty knife to ensure smooth application.

Sanding: For sanding, if your wall is very rough, use sandpaper 100 or 120, and if it doesn’t have much damage, use 120 or 150.

Painting: In 95% of cases, white plastic paint is most commonly used for ceilings. To increase attractiveness and coverage, add a little gray to the white paint you have. This will enhance the coverage of your plastic paint.

Tip:

Never pour the gray paint directly onto the white paint because it won’t dissolve completely. To do this, dilute the gray paint in another container with about half to one liter of water and then pour it onto your base paint to mix well. Now, dilute it further by adding about 40 to 70 percent water (taking into account the water you added to the gray paint). Use a brush (50%), roller (35%), and spray gun (15%) to paint with it.

Wall Color: Wall color is usually cream or bone-colored; for this, dilute about the size of a black-eyed pea of mustard flower paint in a separate container. Then add white paint to this mixture and apply it.

Wood Glue in Plastic Paint

The question arises: What purpose does combining wood glue and plastic paint serve? How much wood glue should be mixed with plastic paint?

In response to the above questions, it should be noted that wood glue can increase the durability of the paint on the surface. It also prevents rapid peeling of the paint on the wall. It is necessary to know that different resins used in the formulation of these paints have made it difficult to determine the exact amount of paint and wood glue to mix. To determine how much to use, it is best to start by adding a small amount of glue until the desired adhesion is achieved. Some refer to this mixture as plastic paint glue.

Water Amount in Plastic Paint

Initially, you should know that the use of solvents causes the paint to become thinner and makes it easier to work with. Paint manufacturers produce paints at a certain concentration, and you add the solvent to it according to your application. As mentioned earlier, the solvent for plastic paint is water.

In the second step, you need to know how much water to add to the plastic paint to achieve the appropriate concentration for different wall and ceiling surfaces. The amount of solvent to be used in plastic paint is considered to be 5 to 6 liters of water per 10 kilograms of paint. That is approximately 50 to 60 percent of the weight you are using.

Now we understand how much water should be in plastic paint.

Calculating the Amount of Plastic Paint Needed

Calculating the amount of paint required is one of the tasks of a building painter. Considering the surface area, you need to calculate how much paint is needed. Since plastic paint is used for surfaces such as walls, we also refer to this calculation for wall surfaces. According to experts, it can be estimated that for every kilogram of paint, between 5 to 6 square meters of wall can be covered. For example, if you have a surface area of approximately 60 square meters, you will need 12 kilograms of paint.