Emulsion or Paint: What Is the Difference?

What is the difference between emulsion and paint?

In everyday speech, painting a wall, applying emulsion and applying latex are used interchangeably, and people mean the same thing: wall paint on the wall. The real difference lies between walls and woodwork. They call for a different type of paint and different preparation.

Emulsion is used on more than wallpaper. You can just as well apply it to a plastered wall, a plasterboard wall or a concrete ceiling. Renovation fleece and woven glass fabric are made to be painted over, so emulsion always goes with them.

Can you apply emulsion to any wall?

On almost any wall, provided the surface is dry, clean and sound. What differs is the preparation.

Bare plaster, new plasterboard and concrete are absorbent. They get a primer first, otherwise the paint soaks in faster in one place than another and the wall turns patchy. On new plaster this is called priming new plaster. If you are not sure whether your wall is absorbent, first test whether you need to prime the wall.

Renovation fleece is paintable wallpaper. For repainting renovation fleece you simply use wall paint, just as on a plastered wall.

Paint does not make a wall any flatter. If there are holes, joints or hairline cracks, those come first: levelling the walls before painting.

What does emulsion cost compared with painting woodwork?

We charge for emulsion per m² and for woodwork per item or per metre. A door or frame is hard to express in m², and preparing wood takes more time per item.

Prices exclude VAT. For renovating a home over 10 years old, VAT is usually 6%, otherwise 21%.

The emulsion price includes one coat. A second coat is mainly needed with a dark colour or a big colour change. To work out a whole room, see what painting walls costs per m². Woodwork is counted per item when you have your window frames and doors painted, and if you are torn between an hourly rate and a price per m², compare what a painter costs.

Can you use wall paint on window frames or doors?

Preferably not. Wall paint is made for walls and ceilings that take little wear. A door, frame or staircase gets handled, knocked and cleaned, and that is what lacquer is designed for.

The reverse is true too: lacquer on a large wall gives a glossy surface that shows every imperfection. That is why we choose the type of paint to suit each surface, and we work with Sigma paint.

Skirting boards sit in between, because they stand against the wall. Can you do them in wall paint? It depends, and when you have your skirting boards painted, we decide case by case.

Who applies the emulsion and paint with you, and how does it work?

With us the same painter applies the emulsion on the walls and lacquers the woodwork: one of our 25 in-house painters, from a team of 97 tradespeople on permanent contracts. In a home we do the walls and ceilings first and only then the window frames, doors and skirting boards, so no splashes land on fresh lacquer.

In your request, list the m² of wall and ceiling separately from the woodwork: how many doors, how many frames and how many metres of skirting board. Each item then appears with the right unit in the free quote you receive within 24 hours. At the site visit we check whether the walls are absorbent and need a primer first.

Interior painting carries a 1-year guarantee. If you only want your walls painted, that is possible too, as is the rest of your interior painting.