A Lesson in Paint

You would think that after 6 years I have this painting thing down pat.

Truth is I don't. I walked into Bunnings fresh faced and full of optimism one fateful day all those years back and came out with a tin of Dulux Low Sheen for the walls and Dulux Aqua-Enamel in semi gloss for the trim. I like water based paint because it doesn't smell too bad, and it is easy to clean up. And that was the end of that, I never went elsewhere, there was no need, I was happy with the brand symbolised by the fluffy dog.

It wasn't until we installed our new windows in the bedroom and spare room that I discovered that you can't mix enamel with waterbased paint without priming in between. Doh! Less than 6 months after painting the bedroom window the paint began to peel and look mighty shabby. My step-dad kindly informed me of my mistake, and pointed out that the only way to fix it would be to strip all the paint off the window and start again. Hmph! That tibbit of information would have been handy prior to painting the window.

However, being the lazy sod I am, I was damned if I was going to strip two windows back, so I brought a tin of Dulux Super Enamel and painted the spare room window with that instead.

I have to say, despite it being highly stinky (thank god I was outside and therefore had good ventilation) I liked the results much more than I liked it's water based counter part. It goes on easier, has a nice gloss look to it, and looked just that little bit fancier than normal.

However, there was no saving the bedroom window, so we stripped the paint back with a combination of sanding and the heat gun. A quick coat of undercoat and we were back to the starting point. One thing I hate about enamel paint is that it takes so long before the next coat can be applied. The primer required 48 hours between coats, which meant that it would be the following weekend before I had the time to do the painting.

With all the rain in Victoria, I chose the first weekend that looked like it could be sunny. In fact, it was to be so sunny that I got up and started painting at 8am in the morning as to not get sunburnt. I was greeted with bubbling paint not long after applying it! Seems no-one informed me that you shouldn't use enamel paint in temperatures over 25 degrees!

Now I get to strip the window sill back AGAIN to start again. Oh the joy!

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