Washable Flat Interior Wall Paint

Fingerprints, smudges, food, crayon marks, etc. They all seem to make an appearance on our painted walls at some point. If you happen to live in my house, it is a daily occurrence. My two daughters and son see to that. I've often thought that I should have installed floor drains in every room as well as plastic walls. This way, I could just hose the rooms down each night. But, like you, I like the look of flat wall paint, hardwood and carpeting. My wife also dislikes the looks of chrome plated floor drains.

Reflections

Did you suffer when your brand new car received its first ding from another car door or shopping cart? It seems like the smallest little depression or bump in a car finish is very noticeable. Have you ever wondered why?

Cars are painted with high gloss paints. These paints, of course, are very shiny. They are also easy to clean. Very few of us would pay top dollar for a car that had a finish like that of Detective Colombo's.

Light rays bounce very uniformly from shiny surfaces. If the surface develops a bump or depression, the light rays are reflected in a different direction away from the bump or depression. The bump or the dimple stands out like a sore thumb.

This same thing can happen in your house. Have you ever painted a wall or ceiling with semi-gloss or high gloss paint? Did you notice those nail pops just a little more? Or did you see those roller or paint brush marks that never seemed to be there when using a flat paint? Now you know why.

Flat Finishes = Grand Canyon

Older flat wall paints are different than gloss paints. Under a microscope a flat paint looks something like a bunch of Grand Canyons side by side. There are lots of places for light rays to be captured instead of reflected. Sure every now and then a little mesa (flat spot) will be there to bounce light directly back, but this is the exception, not the rule. Flat wall paints do a great job of hiding minor imperfections in wall finishes. Bumps and tiny holes seem to disappear. This is why painters, builders and homeowners tend to prefer these finishes.

These miniature Grand Canyons also make great places for dirt, food, etc. to fall into. The problem is, it's tough to get these same things back out of the canyons.

In fact, older flat wall paints simply could not be cleaned. When you would wash them, sometimes the pigments would come off on your wash rag and after the cleaned spot dried, it would be shiny. Numerous complaints to paint companies by consumers like you prompted them to develop the new washable flat wall paints.

Washability

We already know how easy it is to clean a car. But what gives a car or interior gloss paint this property? These paints contain massive amounts of resin. Resin is a key ingredient in paint. It is the glue which allows paint to stick to a surface. It is also the protective film which surrounds and protects any pigments which may color the paint. Clear paints - yes, there are such things - are simply the urethanes or varnishes you use on wood furniture and cabinetry. Auto manufacturers could coat your car with a clear paint as well, but who wants to see the metal!

Two Types of Resin

The interior paints of choice for many homeowners are water-based paints. These paints can be applied quite easily and clean up with soap and water. Water, and sometimes small amounts of hydrocarbon solvents, are a key ingredient of these paints. The water and solvents allow you to spread the product on the wall. As such, it is often called the vehicle. You use the water/solvents to transport the paint from the can to the wall. Hey, don't blame me. I'm not responsible for the name. Call the paint companies!

Anyway, there are two primary types of resins used by paint manufacturers in water-based paints: acrylic and vinyl (polyvinyl acetate.) There are big differences between the two.

Vinyl resins cost less than acrylic resins. These resins don't foam or bubble as much as acrylic when applied. They resist water damage adequately. Vinyl resins clean out of brushes and rollers quite easily.

Acrylic resins cost twice as much vinyl resins. They maintain high flexibility for long periods of time. They are extremely durable. For this reason, all good exterior house paints are usually exclusively 100 percent acrylic. Acrylic water-based paints often smell a little like ammonia. They foam and bubble more than vinyl resins.

The bottom line is this: paints that contain 100 percent acrylic resins will usually perform much better than vinyl paints. The resin is tougher. This means that it just might be more washable. Remember, you will pay for this quality, but, as the old saying goes, "you get what you pay for."

Magical Paints

We have a slight problem. We know that resins are shiny and that we need resins to provide the washability. So how do the paints appear flat? Well, for the most part, that is a trade secret. The closest that I could get to this answer was a combination of two things: shape of pigments (color ingredients) and quantity of resin.

It seems that these new washable flat wall paints contain new pigments that are shaped like snowflakes. Older pigments used to be shaped like balls or rocks. Thus, when completely coated with resin (washability) you still have the capability to scatter light rays like the old fashioned flat wall paints.

The trick is simple. The manufacturers have to include enough resin to coat the pigments, but not too much so as to flood the spaces between the pigments. I'm glad that's not my job! Good luck on your painting project.