About Latex Paint
Latex paint is a form of what is commonly referred to as acrylic paint. Such types of paint differ a great deal from oil paints and are associated with different applications. Although latex paints have many benefits, they also display significant drawbacks in certain situations.
The Facts
Latex paint is a kind of emulsion. In other words, latex paint is made up of many small solid particles that are suspended in a liquid acrylic of some kind. The small particles of the emulsion are what constitute the paint's pigment and the liquid is essentially only used to spread the pigment evenly and disperse it. This liquid solvent, in the vast majority of latex paints, is simply water. In fat, the term "latex" in latex paint originated because of the fact that early acrylic paints generally contained a lot of rubber products, including latex.
History of
Latex paint didn't become widely available to the commercial market until the 1950's. This is largely due to the fact that the world's rubber supplies had been tied up almost exclusively in the outfitting of war machines during World War II. Once the rubber supply was once again freed up for other purposes, several different companies capitalized on the opportunity and began to produce latex paint on a massive scale.
Evolution
Throughout the brief history of latex paint, its role and makeup have been constantly evolving. Early latex paints often included latex in one form or another, or other rubber products, but modern "latex" paints include no such thing. Almost all of the compounds found in today's latex paint are synthetics that have been created specifically for the role. Most pigments are synthetic. The solvent, on the other hand, is generally less than 30% of the paint's content and usually consists of water.
Benefits
There are many benefits to using latex paint. Latex paint, once applied, is extremely durable and will resist any forces that attempt to remove it. Latex paint offers a great sheen and depth of color, almost comparable to that of oil-based paints, and it can also be thinned with water to cover a larger area at the expense of vividness. Latex paint also dries extremely quickly and adheres to rubberized surfaces and previously latex-painted surfaces much better than other forms of paint. It is also non-flammable and somewhat less toxic than other forms of paint.
Risk Factors
There are, however, certain downsides to using latex paint. To begin with, latex paint will cause rusting when it is applied directly to steel or iron because of its high water content. It also has a difficult time adhering to slippery, glossy surfaces and isn't suitable for use in painting such surfaces. Latex paint is nearly permanent and it is very difficult to remove it once it dries, even with chemical paint thinners. Also, from an artistic standpoint, latex paint's rapid drying time leaves very little time to fix any mistakes that are made or to blend paint colors.
