Fifteen years ago I painted latex on a bookshelf and the books sort of stuck even after it was dry. Then I heard that latex never really dries and that I should have used oil based paint instead. So in the last 8 years I have used oil based paint on any shelf I am painting. The oil based worked very fine. Has latex paint changed substantially over the intervening years so that it is now OK to put it on a shelf without fear of things sticking to it, or should I stick to oil based? Am I just lazy to even think about painting a shelf with latex paint? Thanks for any updated knowledge.

 

Oil base enamel always dries harder than latex. The cheaper latex enamels usually stick worse than the better grades. The only latex that won't stick is flat - but it tends to get dirty. There is a realitvly new product out that is waterborne - dries quick, cleans up with water but dries as hard as oil base. SWP sells it in their proclassic line, Ben Moore also has this type of paint.

 

Thank you, I think I will stick with the oil based paint, since I already have it. What I can't remember is if I can use latex primer under oil based paint. I'm now really like Zinnser 123 latex primer and can't remember what I used before I found that.

 

Generally oil enamel can be applied over latex primer.

 

Latex paint might dry fast, but will take up to 3 weeks to cure sometimes... a lot of people don't realize that. And, cheap latex paint, won't ever cure it seems. Look into the products that mark was talking about, they are great for shelves/cabinets.

 

Marksr - I'm all done with my painting except this shelf and I decided I really didn't want to paint oil, so I went to Benjamin Moore and described what I wanted (latex for a shelf) and the staff person said I could use their latex paint, but I would have to put polyurathane over it to get the hard finish I wanted. Is there a product name you have at either Ben. Moore or Sher. Williams that I could ask about or were you also suggesting using polyurathane over it? I believe adding polyurathane over the paint would make it look odd, sort of yellow. This is not a shelf in the closet, but a shelf in the middle of the wall for a printer in the bedroom we use as an office. thanks.

 

I wouldn't use latex enamel over oil enamel. it might not bond well [unless primed first] SWPs waterborne paint is in their pro classic line. I'm not sure what the name is with B Moore. If you go back to BM ask a more knowledgeable sales person.

Oil base polyurathane over any white will yellow it and I wouldn't recomend applying poly over paint except in rare applications.

 

Yes, dry is not the same as cured and hard. In my experience, latex can take weeks to get real hard.

SW used to make an interior/exterior latex enamel named “All Surface Enamel.” ASE may be a harder finish than Proclassic, but check with your SW dealer.

 

Ben Moore's product is "Impervo"
It is available as an oil-based also, so for latex you want the Ben Moore's Waterborne Impervo

 

That is horrible advice.

If you want to move to latex, you have two options.

The first option(the best option) is sand, prime(with a solvent based primer) and put a good quality latex on top, i.e. benmoores 314 line.

The second option is to sand the heck out of the oil, put on deglosser and put a self-priming DTM(direct-to-metal) on it. benmoores 363 line will work great, or ppg has one called PittTech. I'm sure some of these weathered pro's on this board will advise against that, but I've done it, and it does work. But you have to prep the surface very well.

 

Well noleguy, I wouldn't recommend poly over latex for a shelf either

This, however:
I have never tried (and couldn't advise either way on , but I'm not really all that weathered)

I was unable to pop over to BM's site for a MDS on 363
(it may be there, but the site is now so Overly-Completely-n00b-proof-walkyouthroughit-menued it's impossible to just look up something....grrr...< mini-rant off > ....sorry....)
I'm assuming 363 would be something I would normally use for metal lawn furnture?
The advantage would be extreme toughness of glossy finish?
Or am I on the wrong track here?