differance between water and oil based

LI Mike

Active member
todays decoy attempt diliemma this morning i went to put a coat of water based primer sealer over the coats of what i thought was a water based finish sealer come to find out that the two coats of sealer that i had already put on was in fact oil based apperantly i grab the wrong one off the shelf this was only brought to my attention because as i am half asleep i see thru my squinted eyes the primer beading up but i had already done most of the duck. so brought both decoys back to the wood shed for some sanding after work to attempt to salvage them.like i said in my earlier posts this is a decoy attempt and also now a lesson in the basics of paint.i will attempt a reapplication of my new water based sealer this evening.now i'm going to a local ducks unlimited dinner/auction,my buddy got me a ticket i guess i have to wear the dress then.
 
oil is ok on water based, but not the other way around----perhaps, you need separate shelves-well marked?
 
As a profesional painter I do not understand why anyone would ever want to use a water based primer. It does not seal correctly and does not sand the same. I am just going by 24 years of experience however, I may be wrong?
 
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As a profesional painter I do not understand why anyone would ever want to use a water based primer. It does not seal correctly and does not sand the same. I am just going by 24 years of experience however, I may be wrong?


Earl,
You see, that right there is what makes the DHBP so special,,,,,,,,,,,,, everyone has their special area of expertise. You, from you statement, have knowledge gleaned from 24 years of professional experience. A willingness to share that knowledge is what makes this board work for the benefit of all.

As helpful as your post above was, I would be interested if you would elaborate more on what you said. Most of us would assume that if water based primer/sealer is sold,,,,,,,, it must do the job. What do you mean when you say it doesn't seal correctly? When you say "does not sand the same" is that a good thing or is that a bad thing?

I and many others here, would truly like to learn from your expertise.
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I agree interested in hearing the answer, "waterbase sealer" doesn't sound right to me. what is it used for?
 
well Earl thanks putting more questions in my head i have one week experience with painting and carving so if you would be willing to share how you would go about sealing and painting decoys,witch oil based and witch water based and in what order it would be most appreciated.thanks
 
Well, I will explain a bit further on the topic. I am sure a lot of you use specialty paints for the painting of your decoys and you want them to last or look good. A true primer such as Sherwin Williams A-100 primer soaks into the material, where as most water based primers lay on top, never really penatrating the material. They work but don't become part of what you are painting the way oil based does. Oil base should raise the grain of the would when properly applied. You then sand and maybe apply another coat, water based does not sand the same and because it never really soaks in, and kind of gums up the sand paper. As far as field use the oil based on will last longer, I have done tests. For people who like to carve just for shows they will probably find their top coats will bite better over the oil, also easier to fix a mistake. Their brush strokes should be smoother also.

I will also point out I have painted just about everything, Dry Vit on hotels, silos for industrial plants, brick on dairy's as well as cedar houses, and yes even a red wood sided house. Using the proper materials is night and day if you want them to last. I for the life of me can not figure out why they even sell water based primers for wood, you just never get a good a job as using oil. In addition all the old time waterfowl carvers used nothing but oil, lead and lindseed oil for their decoys, just look at how they have stood up throughout the years.

I hope I have been of some help.
 
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I will add just a little bit to what Earl stated. I not professional painter my brother in law is. I have done a lot of painting through out the years being a old fart. Because of the materials in oil based paints, solvents and other chemicals. Use to be lead. Paint manufactures had to come up with some thing. Remember what happened to the companies who produced asbestos. Water based paints have come along way since they first were introduced, but for some applications they are still inferior. As mentioned by Earl are not great at sealing wood.

My experience is you can paint water base paint over oil but not the other way around.

The lasting qualities of water based paints have not yet come up to oils. Color fade is another weakness of water based paints.
 
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