I finally chose between waterborne and solvent paint for my shop

I was stuck deciding between waterborne and solvent paint for months. My buddy runs a shop in Dallas and swore by waterborne for insurance work. I picked solvent based on cost and ended up saving like $400 a month on materials. The tradeoff is it takes longer to dry and I need better ventilation. But the color matching is way easier for me. Anyone else have preference on paint types for production work?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmaclark1mo ago

My friend in Houston told me solvent paint is still king down there because the humidity messes with waterborne drying times too much to be reliable for shop work. He read a study from a paint manufacturer that said solvent holds up better in high moisture environments even though the industry is pushing waterborne hard. I guess it just depends what kind of climate you're dealing with and how much you can invest in drying equipment.

linda_dixon491mo ago

Your friend's not wrong about humidity being a beast with waterborne. I'd add that investing in a good infrared drying setup makes a huge difference in Houston-type climates if you ever do switch.

murphy.mason1mo ago

Solvent's still the go-to for production where I'm at since we can keep the booth warm enough to cut dry times. Your sprayout card trick works way better with solvent too, saves a ton of headaches on blends.