I am doing the ceilings of my house with BM Ultra Spec 500 Flat. I am going to be painting the ceilings of the bathrooms next. Does anyone know if the Ultra Spec has mildew resistant Properties. I can't seem to find any info anywhere. Preferably i would like to use it instead of going out and buying paint just for the bathrooms.
BM Ultra Spec 500 in bathroom
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
Joined
·
2,467 Posts
If it had mildew resistant properties, then Benjamin Moore would make that point loud and clear in the product information sheets on it.
I'd opt for a bathroom paint like Zinsser's PermaWhite Bathroom paint, and use that for both the walls and ceilings in the bathrooms, not just the ceilings. And, give it 2 or 3 coats. You'll have a bathroom with no mildew on the walls for decades.
I'd opt for a bathroom paint like Zinsser's PermaWhite Bathroom paint, and use that for both the walls and ceilings in the bathrooms, not just the ceilings. And, give it 2 or 3 coats. You'll have a bathroom with no mildew on the walls for decades.
Thanks for that idea.
Joined
·
3,094 Posts
I don't believe Ultra Spec is particularly mildew resistant. If I wanted to make it so, I would add this stuff.
http://www.natlallergy.com/index.ph...42j4s3lxL5NHXLDfGyJ-or3S2GtE8AKDzKhoCAnrw_wcB
They sell it at my local BM store, and many paint stores.
http://www.natlallergy.com/index.ph...42j4s3lxL5NHXLDfGyJ-or3S2GtE8AKDzKhoCAnrw_wcB
They sell it at my local BM store, and many paint stores.
Joined
·
2,467 Posts
With utmost respect for Jmayspaint's knowledge and experience, adding a mildewcide to a paint is largely a hit and miss kind of thing.
Mildewcides work by having such a high affinity for water that the mildewcide molecules will migrate through the binder film to the side of the paint film that's wet, or simply has high humidity. That migration of the mildewcide is called "leaching" and it's heavily dependant on several different factors, including the porosity of the paint, which in turn is determined by the gloss level of the paint.
You want to match the kind of binder, the mildewcide and the porosity of the paint to achieve the slowest leaching that still is 100% effective in killing mildew spores that land on the paint. Achieving that requires testing of different binders and different mildewcides at different gloss levels. If your leaching rate is too high, the mildewcide will be 100% effective for a short time, and then lose it's effectiveness so that mildew grows on the paint. If your leaching rate is too slow, the mildewcide in the paint might not be effective at all.
For all of these reasons, in my humble opinion, it's best to buy a paint where all of that testing has already been done, and you get a good 10 years of mildew resistance from your paint job. By simply adding a mildewcide to a paint, you will have some mildew resistance, but how long that resistance lasts and how effective it will be is anyone's guess.
Mildewcides work by having such a high affinity for water that the mildewcide molecules will migrate through the binder film to the side of the paint film that's wet, or simply has high humidity. That migration of the mildewcide is called "leaching" and it's heavily dependant on several different factors, including the porosity of the paint, which in turn is determined by the gloss level of the paint.
You want to match the kind of binder, the mildewcide and the porosity of the paint to achieve the slowest leaching that still is 100% effective in killing mildew spores that land on the paint. Achieving that requires testing of different binders and different mildewcides at different gloss levels. If your leaching rate is too high, the mildewcide will be 100% effective for a short time, and then lose it's effectiveness so that mildew grows on the paint. If your leaching rate is too slow, the mildewcide in the paint might not be effective at all.
For all of these reasons, in my humble opinion, it's best to buy a paint where all of that testing has already been done, and you get a good 10 years of mildew resistance from your paint job. By simply adding a mildewcide to a paint, you will have some mildew resistance, but how long that resistance lasts and how effective it will be is anyone's guess.
1 - 9 of 9 Posts
