Which paint is best in humid area - I live in FL

I live in Fl. I got the message that SWP and BM are preferred over Behr in most cases here. I live in Florida, so it is a humid area. What is a good interior paint for this area? Be as specific as possible if you have experience with this type of condition please. The more info you can give me, the better. I am trying to make a quick decision because I need to go pick some colors and figure out what I will be using. I have a couple weeks but I want to paint some samples onto the walls too. Any help or advice is appreciated...thanks!

Lisa
P.S. Also, I meant to ask...any info on which type of paint to use...acrylic, oil, or are there other choices too? We will be painting the entire interior.

 

Welcome to the forums Lisa!

Most latex wall paints will preform well providing you run your AC. For the most part, the HVAC unit will remove or prevent the humidity from being a big issue. It would be best to use a bath rm paint for bath rms with a shower. Bath paint is a latex enamel that has extra mildewcide and is formulated for the harsher environment that many bath rms see. Oil base paints are more apt to get mold/mildew than latex.

I used to live in Bithlo and painted in both Orange and Seminole counties. We mostly used Color Wheel paints and never had any issues relative to the humidity. Since Color Wheel is a regional brand it is possible they put more mildewcide in their paints.

Are you having any specific problems with the paint in your home? Generally issues from moisture are in a bath rm [better paint and use the exhaust fan will usually fix it], from plumbing leaks or windows that sweat.

Before painting, any mildew should be removed! A bleach/water solution is very effective, just be sure to rinse the cleaner off of the wall so there aren't any adhesion issues.

 

I use Benjamin Moore Regal in my house here and would use it there as well, I don't see your location being a factor in the paint choice unless you don't condition the space.

 

Thanks guys!

I don't know anything about Color Wheel really. How does it run price wise? Where do they sell it? Are you one of the guys who usually recommends Benjamin Moore...how does it compare to them?

Also, like Benjamin Moore does Color Wheel have lots of different product lines...like Benjamin has Ben or Regal or Aura. What is a good one with Color Wheel?

By the way, one more question about Benjamin Moore specifically (since that was the way I was leaning last night after all the previous threads)...do they still have Regal? I went online and did not see that as one of their choices when I looked at my local store.

Thanks again for any help.
Lisa

 

Hi,
Where are you located (you mentioned you use it in your house). Also, what exactly do you do to condition the space (my brother in law will be coming to paint for me)...just walls, no trim or doors and we have a slightly textured surface on all walls (with whole house being a light cream color right now).
Thanks!

 

Just that you run the AC in the summer, heat (if needed) in the winter. In other words, you're trying to maintain a comfortable living environment which may be different than what is outside the house at the time.

I haven't bought paint since 2009 so I don't know whether Regal is still one of Ben Moore's lines.

Mark has used more Sherwin Williams paint in his day than any other so that familiarity has him typically using that brand.

 

I haven't been to or painted in Orlando in about 20 yrs but if I remember correctly, Color Wheel was located on Silver Star Rd. 20-30 yrs ago they had decent latex coatings considering their low prices. Their oil base coatings weren't all that great. I do miss their latex caulk - it's superior to any latex caulking I can buy here in n.e. tenn.

SWP's bottom line coatings aren't near as good as CW's coatings but SWP's top of the line paints are superior to anything CW sells, the same can be said about BM ....... but I don't know how CW paints compare today.

I've used BM's regal line and it is decent paint. I assume they still carry that line but I don't know for sure.

I assume your walls have an orange peel texture. How old is your home? has it been repainted before? or is the paint original? I ask because a lot of builders cheat and don't pay the painter to prime the walls Finish paint applied directly over the texture looks ok but isn't very durable. If this describes your walls - I'd recommend applying a primer sealer [like zinnser's gardz or peelstop] before repainting.

 

Our house is about 8yrs old...they may have painted right on top of the texture (yes, it's like orange peel), and I'm almost certain it was never painted after that. when you mention the primer sealer, is that the same as a "primer" or are they two different things?

Is there anyone else still on this thread who may have recently used Color Wheel? I'm trying to figure out if others still recommend Color Wheel, and if they go on smoothly like people mentioned with BM and SWP? I did look up Color Wheel and it talks about Southeastern climate and specifically Florida so it does sound like a good choice.

We have painted two rooms in our house..one was my daughter's room done with 3 pink walls and one purple using Olympia from Lowes and it turned out fine. But then we used Valspar on Lowes recommendation when we painted our computer room one light gray wall and 3 dark gray walls. We had a heck of a time (I think because we also had the ceiling fan going) that we were getting some spots dry before we could blend the paint and we saw streaks afterwards. Ended up having to do 3 coats and it's ALMOST good, but if anything touches it, it tends to take the paint off. So we are trying to avoid any big problems like that this time since the whole rest of the house will be painted in the next couple weeks.

Lisa

 

Color Wheel caters mostly to new construction and paint contractors. While their coatings are not of high quality, they cover and touch up well. They preform decent when applied correctly.

It sounds like a primer wasn't used when your house was originally built - that's one reason you had so many issues with the repainting. Not all primers are the same. Many are just a coating that promotes adhesion and gives a base so the top coat can cover. A primer sealer does the same but goes a step further. It will bond deeper into the existing finish and dry a little harder. I doubt the ceiling fan was the main issue with your computer room paint job. The lack of primer caused the wall to suck up the paint at an inconsistent rate. The 3rd coat may have been a paint quality issue.

I don't want to leave the impression that CW is the best paint you can get, it's not. It is however the best low price paint I've used. Since it is a regional product, it is a little more tailor made for central fla - mainly having extra mildewcide.

 

Thanks again! I am going to go to CW today and maybe also BM to take a look at what they have. We are trying to book flights for my brother in law to come ...it may be as early as next weekend so I need to get myself moving.
Lisa