Should I use water-based or oil-based paint?

Water based vs oil based paint at a glance

Use water-based paint on surfaces you would wipe with a damp cloth: bedroom walls, the living room, ceilings and the hallway. Switch to oil-based enamel where hands, keys and shoes knock against things, such as a timber main door, a window grille or a balcony railing. Most homes need both. If you are hiring for painting, tell the painter which surfaces are metal or wood, since those take a different product and longer drying.

The figures below come from Nippon Paint Singapore's Odour-less All-in-1 page and its Bodelac 9000 High Gloss Enamel data sheet. Each is, for example, one product's data sheet at 30 degrees C, not a rule for every tin.

You notice the difference most in the recoat time. Two coats of wall paint can go on in one afternoon. The second enamel coat on a gate has to wait at least 12 hours after the first, so metalwork usually runs into a second day.

Odourless paint Singapore homes use indoors

People searching for odourless paint singapore often plan to stay home during the work, or share a small flat with a baby, an elderly parent or a pet. Nippon Paint Singapore sells its Odour-less All-in-1 for interiors, applied by roller or brush. Its technical data sheet recommends 1 coat of sealer followed by 2 coats of the paint.

A low smell does not tell you everything. NEA's advisory on formaldehyde in interior building products says formaldehyde can be released from composite wood products, adhesives and paints. It advises extending ventilation for several weeks after the works are completed and delaying moving in. This matters in a BTO renovation, where fresh paint and new carpentry arrive together. Our piece on formaldehyde from new furniture covers the furniture side.

Enamel paint for metal and wood

Where a surface takes knocks, enamel paint for metal and wood is worth the slower drying. Nippon's Bodelac 9000 data sheet describes a solvent-based, oil-modified alkyd enamel for primed wood and metal, and names doors, railings and PVC pipes. Its recommended system is 1 coat of primer, 1 undercoat and 2 finishing coats, and it is thinned only with its own reducer.

In Singapore homes, that means the metal gate outside an HDB unit, the grilles in an older flat, a condo balcony railing or the timber doors of a landed house. If a gate has rusted through or no longer closes properly, a fresh coat may not be enough. Our guide to HDB main gate replacement explains the alternative.

Coverage and how much to buy

A litre of one paint does not cover the same area as a litre of another. For example, one product's data sheet, for Nippon's Odour-less All-in-1, gives 10 to 12 square metres per litre, while the Bodelac 9000 data sheet gives about 16 square metres per litre. Both are theoretical figures at a stated film thickness, so rough or porous walls may need more.

Measure the area, divide it by the coverage printed on your own tin, then multiply by the number of coats. The paint calculator does the sums for walls and ceilings. The odour-less paint comes in 1 litre and 5 litre packs, enough for anything from a toilet ceiling to a whole four-room flat. If a painter supplies the paint, quotes depend on the job, so ask which product is included and how many coats.

Switching from oil to water-based

Many older resale flats have doors and skirting finished in oil-based gloss. You can usually move to water-based paint, but not by brushing straight over the shine. The general approach is to clean the old surface, sand it until it is dull, then prime it with a product the paint maker says suits the change. If you do not know what the existing coat is, ask your painter to check before work starts. To decide whether this is a weekend job or one to hand over, see DIY painting vs painter.

Verdict

Water-based paint belongs on walls and ceilings: it dries fast, smells less and lets the next coat go on sooner. Oil-based enamel belongs on trim, doors and metal such as gates and grilles, where a hard glossy finish justifies the longer wait and the extra ventilation. Neither suits every surface, so most homes use each where it fits. To see what a whole flat may cost, read our guide to HDB painting cost. Quotes depend on the size of the flat and what is being painted.

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