I painted my cabin with a sprayer. Now I plan to paint my house. My formula for viscosity and easy mixing is 40 oz. acrylic latex paint, 5 oz. Floetrol® and 5 oz. distilled water. The distilled water was used in lieu of well water, which is filtered for iron removal. Is distilled water the better choice here? – Tim Barrett
Tim Inman: Distilled water is a known quantity. “Ordinary” water should work just as well, but why push it? Distilled water is cheap, and if it is working for you, why pinch pennies and risk costing you dollars later on? The pH of the water would be the biggest offender, more than likely. Distilled water is neutral, by definition.
Chris Marshall: I agree with Tim — if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Distilled water worked for your paint solution for the cabin, so it should work just as well on your house. When it comes to the alchemy of finishing — be it paint or otherwise — I tend to go with what has proven to work for me in order to avoid unpleasant surprises.
