How Much Do You Thin Your Latex Paint?

I've been experiementing lately with various paint viscosities. Some paints are a lot heavier than others (SW ProBlock... heaviest I've ever used) and benefit from thinning, especially when brushed on. Other topcoats are meant to be thinned, while others get trashy when water is added.

So I'm curious, is there a set formula you guys are using to thin paint, or is every can you apply different? What's your experience on this?

steve

Thats the mil thickness layer you are messing with. Heh, but on the can of most latex paints it actually gives formulas for how much water to add for spray, and etc. I like thick heavy paints personally.. makes me feel good when a big fat drip hits me in the eye.

I have no problem with thinning latex, and like Brushslinger said, most latex paints allow as much as 1qt of water per gallon (in some cases). Personally, when I do trim, I tend to add just a little shot of water into my cut pot to give me a tad better flow. I have done this with every kind of latex I've used, and never had ill results. Just make sure it's mixed in thoroughly. I've never seen it get trashy...

Oh, and if you think problock is heavy stuff, spread a few lines of Color Accents (slickshift loves to call it "deep" accents for some reason) and you will see some HEAVY HEAVY stuff.

That stuff is lightweight compared to colorwheel optima.. now THAT, is a thick paint.

I never thin latex/waterborne when brushing

Occasionally I'll use a conditioner for oil-based paints when brushing

I especially don't thin Deep Accents by SWP

What brand is that?? Never heard of it.

Thanks!!

It is Sherwin Williams Color Accents. It's what you must go to when say you want duration but you want a super dark red. Color accents is a high quality (THICK) paint with an ultra deep base for the real dark colors.

/me LoL @ slick!!

It is by far the best paint ever for deep colors like reds etc.
(this from a Ben Moore guy that doesn't even know the correct names for SWP products)

Okay, thanks!! I buy a lot of SW products, but most of my paint is interior latex in some off-white, non-offensive, all-loving type color.

steve

Ahh, color accents. I just did two exterior trim and one interior wall with it. There are formulas for both, but the exact name escapes me right now. I've been working around laquer thinner all day.

Depending on humidity, I may thin paint. It seems that the accent line is much more brush friendly than duration. Since moving to las vegas, I've noticed that the paint dried out in the pot very, very quickly. So I try to keep some condioner on hand.

I will use water, but not much. In this climate it just isn't feasible to keep adding water every 20 minutes.

Something I do here is keep a bucket of water on the ground, every so often (smoke breaks) I toss the brush into the water bucket... and go from there.

Actually, I wash the brush a lot. That saves on a lot of thinnning. And it saves my expensive purdy xp pips.

When I spray, I usually add about a 1/2 cup of Floetrol, and a shot of water to a gallon if the paint is very thick.

Also when it's hot and dry out, I keep adding a little water to my pot. I also wash my brush frequently to keep it nice and fluid. Also, I wash my roller covers before I use them to get loose lint off, and to prelubricate it. This seems to make the paint flow into the fibers easier so it loads faster.

Here's a trick I discovered yesterday by accident:
The hose wasn't connected to the spigot. The HO was standing over me talking and distracting me, and I accidentally got a little paint on the concrete. Since it was a hot and dry day, I knew I had only a few seconds to get it wet. When I realized the hose wasn't ready, I ran to my giant tupperware box-o'tricks, and pulled out the Floetrol,and dumped a capful on the spill. That kept it wet while I hooked up the hose.

Worked like a charm, and the HO was impressed!

--And then I told him to go away.

I just got a gal of Floetrol for my latex--havnt tried it yet but im gonna use it for all prob--brush roll and spray

I add water sometimes but never a lot, usually just stir paint every 10-15 min in hot weather

Robert

I keep a bottle of Floetrol around for those special circumstances when I mix two different brands of paint together, helps things blend better.

You contractors may never mix different brands together, but us landlords often mix leftover paint into one 5-gallon bucket and paint a room or trim with it. The Floetrol helps everything to get along.

I just painted a few bedrooms of my own home with three different variations of "Linen White".... had half a fiver from Lowes, a full can of Behr as well as two cans of SW Classic 99. Mixed her all together and it came out great (just remember this was my own home, not someone else's).

steve

Actually, ALL leftover light colors I pour into one and use as primer on the next job... and I have at one time poured three different brands/colors into one to get the color right.

Do you mix the left-over topcoats with a primer, or use the topcoats alone as a primer? Seems like most topcoats I've used don't do a whole lot of good as a sealer/blocker (unless its a repaint).

steve

Depends on the app, raw sheetrock i''m gonna have to sand alot anyhow, outside and re-paints, I use regular primer. Commercial build outs and such it's normally just raw, flat sheetrock.

Makes sense. I once had three 1-gallon cans of paint stored in the basement. My two little girls (ages 1 and 2) thought it was great fun to tear the lables off while I was at work. Wife thought nothing of telling me she found the torn off lables and threw them away. A month later I found the cans with no lables... so what to do with 3 cans of "mystery paint?"

I knew it had to be something SW made since the cans looked about the same. But had no clue if it was a satin or semi topcoat or one of their primers.

So, I had a few bedrooms to paint (again, one of my rentals) and mixed the three gallons with a Linen White from Lowes that I had sitting around. Turned out quite nice... used up that mystery paint.

steve