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Help! I Don’t Know What Paint To Buy

There is a misconception that paint is paint. I am of the school of thought that wholeheartedly debunks this; more so, because of my experience as the Brand Manager of one of Nigeria’s leading paint manufacturing companies.

The quality of paint is contingent on its raw materials. Raw materials like binders, biocides, pigments, etc impinge heavily on the performance of the finished product.

Let me point out a couple of things that one should consider before purchasing paints in Nigeria.

1. Your budget – How much are you willing to spend?
2. The type of paint – There are two classifications of paints: Do you want decorative paints (for buildings) such as emulsion, satin (emulsion with sheen), textured, gloss, etc or do you want non decorative paints (for, vessels, oil rigs, metals, etc) such as anti-fouling paints, anti-corrosive paints, etc or do you want a combination of different types?
3. What do you need the paint for – Do you want to paint a building or a water logged surface or a ship/vessel or an oil rig or a metal pipe, etc?
   Your expectancy – For how long do you want the paint to last on the substrate/wall?
4. Reputation of paint – Is the brand widely recognized and accepted?
   Surface Preparation – Regarding decorative paints; It is imperative that one examines the smoothness of the wall because the smoother the wall, the lesser the volumes of litres of paint required; rough walls absolve a lot of paint. Other factors that should be considered are cracks on the walls, fungi on the walls, etc. Cracks should be filled up while fungi infested walls need to be washed with sterilizing solution or any equally effective substance before painting. If the wall is a virgin wall (newly plastered) a curing/drying time of 6months is required before paint is to be applied. This would prevent the acidic content of the cement from interfering with the paint. If you do not want to wait for 6 months; you can apply alkali resisting primer on the surface and allow to dry for a few days before painting. As for non-decorative paints, rusted surfaces and troubled surfaces need to be attended to before the application of paint.
5. The aforementioned details are a few factors amongst many other factors to be considered before purchasing paints. It is advisable to go for quality paints to attain optimum satisfaction.

In short, whenever you are about to purchase paints from a dealer or directly from the manufacturer ask performance related questions, explain pertinent issues relating to your walls and most importantly inquire if there are value added services.

Thank you for your time! I hope you are able to get satisfaction from the paints you purchase.
Adios Amigos!

Disclaimer:

BuildersEnquiry.com is not liable to any article or content on its website. All procedures or suggestions are provided as guidelines and if carried out must be considered with caution.