Latex versus Oil On Bare Metal. Does Latex Cut It?

TomBrooklyn

There are a lot of acrylic and/or latex paints on the market now that are supposed to be good on direct to metal applications.

I find myself skeptical that they can really contain rust. I suppose they're OK on interior metal doors that are not in a kitchen or bathroom.

But can they really do the job on exterior metal or interior metal in damp or humid locations, or where the metal is subject to getting wet?

Matthewt1970

I remember having to go and fix a job another painting crew did. They were putting metal door frames in an office and the painter primed them with latex. Less than a month later the primer and paint was already peeling off. We went in and scraped all the latex off, primed with oil and then a coat of semi-gloss oil paint. The paint is still on there today. This was easily 10 years ago. Metal should be primed with oil, ESPECIALLY if it is going to be outdoors.

slickshift

Although water-based metal paints have come a long way, the alkyds still have an edge in rust prevention

poppameth

It really varies by company anymore. For the most part the oil primers, especially red oxide will have the edge in corrosion prevention. That said we sell the Virginia Department of Transportation Davis Acrylic DTM with Davis W101 Acrylic Red Oxide DTM Primer. That primer has better rust inhibitive properties than the oil. It did originate in the railroad industry for coating box cars though. We've done several roofs with it, fully stripped down to bare metal and primed and top coated with the DTM products. Not one has had any rust issues.

Using a good Acrylic products on an interior application shouldn't be much of an issue unless there are existing rust problems. I've never had anyone use a good acrylic on metal that has any any issues this way. Exterior is another matter. Depending on what you are doing, proper priming is essential to prevent rust.