When it comes to painting your home or commercial business, the choices of paint may overwhelm you. There’s interior, exterior, flat, gloss, matte, low VOC…. The sheer amount of available options is enough to make anyone throw their hands up in despair and drive off into the sunset.
Don’t worry! There’s one choice you can make right up front that will make the choice a no brainer: interior vs exterior paint.
If you’re painting inside, you’ll use interior paint. If you’re painting the exterior, you’ll use exterior paint. But why? Read on to find out the differences between interior and exterior paint, and why they shouldn’t be used interchangeably.
Interior Paint Basics
Interior paint is made up of resins, solvents, additives, and pigments.
The solvent is what makes your paint “wet” and it eventually evaporates as the paint dries. The pigment is what gives the paint its color. Additives give paint certain properties, such as resistance to mold, mildew, and scuffs.
Lastly, the resin is what binds your paint to the surface. They can be silicone, acrylic, or epoxy.
What is interior paint used for?
Interior paint is mostly used for cosmetic purposes. It’s used to decorate the interior of your home, coordinate with your furnishings, and make it feel like “your” space.
However, there is more than one type of “interior paint” and knowing the difference will help you get the best results. Ranging from matte to glossy, these finishes each have their own pros and cons.
Interior Paint finishes
Flat paint is the most matte of the finishes, and is good for covering wall blemishes but is the most difficult to keep clean. It doesn’t withstand wall scrubbing and you’ll often find that with cleaning, you also strip some of your paint. It’s also the cheapest of the options.
Eggshell finishes are less matte than flat paint but slightly more durable and fairly easy to clean. It’s not too “shiny” and is therefore best for living rooms, hallways, bedrooms, and other low-traffic areas. Eggshell is also a great choice for an accent wall.
Satin paint is recommended for “dirtier” areas like kitchens and bathrooms. It stands up to cleaning well but has a slight gloss to it. Satin is the most common out of all paint finishes.
Semi-gloss paint is also easy to clean and doesn’t have too bright of a shine, making it ideal for trim work.
Gloss is by far the easiest to clean but since it’s very shiny, it will intensify any dents and/or imperfections in your walls, making them really stand out.
Exterior Paint Basics
Much like interior paint, exterior paint is also made up of solvents, pigments, additives, and resins.
The difference is that the resin in exterior paint is softer, making the end product more flexible. Temperature changes can cause building exteriors to expand and contract. This natural movement would cause a stiff paint to crack, but exterior paint has some “stretch,” which allows it to hold up longer.
What is exterior paint used for?
In addition to cosmetics, exterior paint serves an important purpose: to withstand the elements.
Exterior paint has to be able to stand up to moisture without bubbling, UV rays without fading, and sweltering heat or freezing snow without cracking. Seems like a tough job for a little can of paint, doesn’t it?
That’s why it’s crucial to use exterior paint for outdoors and interior paint for indoors.
Exterior Paint Finishes
Exterior paint also comes in flat, satin, semi-gloss, and high gloss finishes.
Flat paint is not used much today on the exterior of buildings, as it’s porous and succumbs to a lot of mold and mildew issues.
Satin finishes are good for high-touch areas because it cleans well. It’s also a very good protectant from UV rays.
Gloss is optimal for places that need frequent cleaning (like a garage door).
Interior vs Exterior Paint
The main difference in interior vs exterior paint is the function.
Interior paint acts as protection against smudging, food, fingerprints, and dirt. It also comes in a wide array of colors to decorate your home.
Conversely, exterior paint’s main purpose is to provide protection to the outside of your home or building from the harsh elements. It is meant to withstand all forces of nature without compromising the integrity of your structure.
Can they be used interchangeably?
A common question is whether interior and exterior paint can be used interchangeably. Unfortunately, no.
Interior paint will not last as long nor look as good over long periods of time if used on the outside of your home. Weather, temperature, and dirt will all contribute to breaking it down quickly and you will simply have to redo the project again in another year or two.
Using exterior paint on the inside of your home is an even worse idea.
Exterior paint has higher levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) than interior paint. When you paint, these fumes (recognizable as the intense smell) are distributed throughout your home. Once they are inhaled, they can cause damage to the nose and throat, lightheadedness, headaches, and fatigue.
When interviewing painters for your next project, make sure you ask them what type of paint they use or (if you are supplying the paint) what type of paint you should purchase. If they tell you it doesn’t matter, go with a different company!
Conclusion
Now that you know the difference between interior and exterior, you’re well on your way to an informed decision.
At Scott McDonald Painting, we make the decision easy for you. Because we have the knowledge and expertise to know what to use, the only decision left up to you will be the color (but don’t worry, we can help guide you through that decision too).
We’re here to help with your questions and to offer our expert services. When you hire us, we don’t cut corners. We only use the best quality paint and will be in and out of your home or business so you can get back to normal.
Give us a call today for a free consultation.
