Can You Use Exterior Paint Inside the House?

Usman Ashraf
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Can You Use Exterior Paint Inside
Can You Use Exterior Paint Inside

In this article we will discuss Can You Use Exterior Paint Inside the House?

To answer this question, we need to understand the differences between interior paint and exterior paint.

So let’s start different environments.

Interior Paint

  • Interior paint is more to do with aesthetics and decoration purposes.
  • Interior paint is so made that they can be scrubbed and can resist staining.
  • Interior paint is formulated to be more resistant to physical damage, washable and prevent dampness.
  • Interior paint is not required to be fade resistant as they are not subjected to extreme temperature conditions and hence they do not fade easily.
  • The resins used for interior paint are more rigid because the paint does not have to deal with weather and temperature differences.
  • Like exterior paint, these resins make interior paint less prone to damage from scuffing and easier to clean as well.
  • interior paint can be cured even without direct exposure to sunlight.
  • Interior paint does not require additives like pesticides and fungicides.
  • Interior paint should have a low or zero VOC. This is important in preserving the air quality in your home.
  • Low or zero VOC help to reduce your health risks.

Exterior Paint

  • Exterior paint is exposed to all types of varying weather conditions like sun, wind, water.
  • They require extra protection against UV rays, fungal growth, and core stamps during the rains and snow.
  • This is done by increasing the amount of resin and pigment in the paint as well as using more resilient additives.
  • exterior paint have to be fade resistant as they face very high temperatures and UV radiations.
  • The resins used for exterior paint are flexible so that they survive temperature changes and illegits due to the exposure of moisture, they are supposed tobe flexible, that is, they should not easily crack on expansion or contraction of surface.
  • Exterior paint also must be tougher and resist peeling, shipping, and fading from sunlight.
  • For these reasons, the resin used in binding exterior paints must be softer.
  • exterior paints need sunlight to cure.
  • some exterior paint contains many additives like pesticides and fungicides, and that’s why they need sunlight to cure VOC.

For those of you who don’t know, VOCs are volatile organic compounds. These are essentially toxins that can damage the overall health of people who are exposed to the paint for a longer period of time.

  • some exterior pins release more VOCs while curing, and that’s why exterior pens are not safe for indoors.

Outgassing

It means the release of gas after the application of paint. As compared with exterior paints, interior paints are delicate. However, it is also interesting to note that interior paints do not out gas. This is why interior paints are much safer to use indoors, whereas the added resins in exterior paint can cause outgassing that can last up to 48 hours but usually continues in small amounts for years.

This is also one of the reason you should not use exterior paint indoors.

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Properties

Interior paint is designed to withstand abrasion whereas exterior paint must be tougher and should be capable of resisting peeling and chipping.

Scuffing

It means rubbing or brushing the surface. The reasons used in interior paint are less prone to damage from scuffing and also easier to clean whereas exterior paint is surprisingly more prone to scuffing and scratches.

Pigment

Interior paint contains comparatively less pigment as compared to exterior paint whereas exterior paint may contain more pigment as compared to interior paint.

Water resistance

Interior paint is made washable so as to clean spots and marks that they accidentally get especially by small kids and paints at home. Exterior paint is also supposed to resist water hence they are made waterproof.

some paints available in the market which can be used on interior and exterior surfaces but it also has its own disadvantages.

Now the obvious question that will come in your mind is can we use interior paint on outdoor surfaces or vice versa?

The simple answer is no. Interior and exterior paints are differentiated on the basis of their properties, purpose and uses and hence one cannot be used in place of another.

You might think that because exterior paints are made tougher and are able to withstand more that they would perform well in the interior setting too. But this is not the case. In fact exterior paint tends to scuff and gets scratched quite easily something that is not easy to notice when it is on the exterior of your home but very noticeable indoors.

There is also the fact that exterior paint releases more views into the air. When used indoors. This can be quite dangerous and lead to certain allergies.

On the other hand, using interior paint outdoors will result in peeling and cracking due to changing temperatures.

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About Post Author

Usman Ashraf

Usman Ashraf joined The Trending News in 2021 as a News reporter focused on covering Latest News. He has been reporting on News since 2015. Prior to joining The Times, He spent over five years reporting for STAT in Boston and San Francisco. Before that, He reported as an intern for the Washington Post, the Hartford Courant, and the Santa Barbara Independent. He is originally from Pakistan and graduated from Harvard.

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