My 1915 home has a window directly over the tub. The window has since been replaced with glass block, but the wooden window sill is still there...and it gets a daily soaking from the shower.

I've scraped the old blistering paint down to the bare wood, and need to repaint. Is it appropriate to use an exterior paint to help battle the harsh effects of the shower?

 

jslawny, The exterior paint wouldn't be a bad idea but do prime with a good oil base primer first....Mike

 

Thank You! I already coated the sill with Zinser 123 water-based primer...can I apply the oil-based primer over it, or should I sand it down to bare wood again?

 

Go to www.doityourself.com/paint/typesofpaint.htm for a good overview of types of paint. I have always wondered if marine paint would be a good option for painting the wood window frames in showers.

 

twelvepole, I have been using exterior grade paint in high humidity areas for years always with great results. If proper prep and correct primers are used to assure a bond the exterior materials will help keep any moisture from getting to the surface.
jslawny, No need to get to the wood. If the window is in good shape and the 123 didn't discolor when dry you could paint over it. A coat of oil primer at this time would be OK but not a must...Mike

 

Mike, How the heck do say to use exterior paint on interiors?! All good exterior paints contain Mildicide. Mildicide will hang in the air for years causing gut aches, loose bowels, and head-aches. If some of your former customers haven't called you back it's not because the price was too high, but instead they've been sick from all that Mildicide!!!!! Yuck.
Sorry to be blunt, Mike. There's no nice way to tell you you're wrong on this one. Now I have a head-ache.

 

Geez....And I thought it was a smokers cough and excess alcoholic consumption that was making me throw up all these years..You would think that they would put a health warning on the tin...Damn you Dulux..

 

toptosh, I hope you are with me on this one. all those years of exposure to Mildicide may have worn on that fertile brain of yours.

 

An exterior paint that is labelled "Exterior Use Only" should not be used indoors.

The EPA states that exterior paint is frequently used indoors especially in areas that are exposed to a lot of moisture such as bathrooms and kitchens.

M-1 Mildewcide is EPA registered for use in all paints and stains. It contains NO mercury, lead or tin oxide. It is added to many interior and exterior latex, oil or solvent-based paints, stains, coatings to inhibit mildew growth through paint. Unequaled by any other paint additive, tetrachloroisophthalonitrile is not a human carcinogen. It has the lowest toxicity of any paint additive.

The EPA has registered Mildewcide for use on 80 varieties of fruit and vegetable crops. It is registered by the USDA for use on food plants. The National Bureau of Standards (NBS) rates it for 3 years of effective mildew control. It is 286% more effective than mercury in NBS tests. (Note: mercury is the additive in the exterior paints that are labeled "Exterior Use Only" and is the ingredient in the mildew inhibitor called Mildicide that is used by some manufacturers of exterior paint. Again, these paint products are labeled "Exterior Use Only".) The US Navy rates Mildewcide as superior to all other EPA registered mildewcides in both alkyd and latex paints.

Warning: Just because Mildewcide can be sprayed on your fruit, the paint is not for internal consumption! Internal consumption may result in gut aches, loose bowels, and headaches.

 

I thought most now contained Dydroxilidicionepic. Not Telpicidiforn or Masecodicide like most people think. Although much can be said for paints that contain Conosemiphilin which helps with adhesion on slick surfaces.

 

JDX, could you be so kind as to provide further information about the "ingredients" that you site are being put in "most" paints. I find no documentation for these terms as paint ingredients or otherwise. Please share further information about these "chemicals" what manufacturers use them.

 

Well, let's see here. May I start by saying you may want to pick up a can of Devoe, Benjamin Moore, Hyde, California, Duron, possibly Porter, and most likely Pratt and Lam.. Tell me I'm wrong when you get a Chemical Analysis Specification available direct from the manufacturer on the ingredients in most of your lines of paint. You will be shocked when you read the analysis. The harm to the human body is shocking let alone to the environment.
ICI was the first manufacturer to comply to my request for the chemical Anal. Spec. form. I'm still waiting for PPG to comply as well as Benjamin Moore. But the truth is out there. I'm convinced now, aren't you?

 

I stand behind my advice to use an exterior paint inside. For Gods sake the original poster here is wanting to paint a window! There may/could be valid concerns where these chemicals are concerned and I'll dig into it a bit. If old lead based paint is safe to work with as long as no sanding or raising of dust is done I can't help but believe there is little to worry about where exterior latex is concerned. If it were possible for a dry paint film on a wall or trim surface to cause someone harm just think about the painters who have breathed, eaten and worn exterior paint materials for years on end.
Something may come forth next week that proves that all painters and their customers are sick or terminal but I don't look for it. It will take more than pasting a bunch of chemical names in a forum reply to get me worried.
jslawny, You go ahead and paint with what you feel best for yourself but I stick by my advice......Theres not 2 cents worth of difference between int. and ext. paint as far as chemicals are concerned unless of course the can says "Exterior Use Only"......Makes sense to me.....Mike

 

I'm planning on re-painting the door frames and skirting boards inside my house. Would any harm come to using exterior paint? It's just that I have read from somewhere that if exterior paint is used on indoor materials, it will actually last longer.

Thanks for clearing up any confusion.

 

Welcome to the forums pinkteddy!

Exterior paints generally dry to a softer film than interior coatings so they can better withstand the temperature changes the exterior sees. That means they don't necessarily wear or wash as well as interior paints. In most instances exterior paint won't last longer than interior when applied indoors. Also the out gassing of chemicals for interior paints has stricter regulations than with exterior coatings.

While I wouldn't be scared to use exterior coatings on the inside - it is better to use interior paint!