There has been some complaint about BM waterbased Impervo being plastic-y. Are you going to remove it all? Because I would imagine whatever is on top of it would pull up as well.

I know its not particularly green but I still use oil based on horizontal wood surfaces like shelves.

I did use water based Valspar on the upstairs window sills, and they have not pulled up but they do have a slightly sticky feel, particularly in hot weather -- and items left on them like pieces of pottery and such stick slightly to the surface. (But without pulling up the paint).

How frustrating, that stinks you're going to need to repaint.

If you want to stick with Benjamin Moore, the new product out that I was led to believe is being marketed as a replacement for the BM waterbase impervo is "Advance." They call it a waterbourne alkyd- offering the durability of an oil, but the easy clean up of a water base. It is also low VOC.

It is only avail at the moment in satin, but they will be releasing the semi and gloss anytime. (It's in the literature on website, but not avail at my local store-at least as of last week.)

We're using the Advance satin for our kitchen cabinetry & trim for the entire house, but it is going on literally as we speak, so I can't comment on the tackiness issue with horizontal surfaces yet. Now you've got me worried...

I'm nervous using a new product that I couldn't find reviews on, but wanted a low VOC yet durable paint. Hope this is it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Ben Moore Advance

We've xperienced the same problem with Sherwin Williams and Valspar no VOC interior wall paints.

I've tried low and no VOC paints from a few different mfgs and found all of them to be more "plasticy" than the old school paint I remember from 20 years ago. This new stuff doesn't seem to dry hard and becomes a bit sticky in the high-humidity summer months. Also, when applying, it doesn't level as well, leaving a bit of an orange peel texture. And yes, I've tried Floetrol and another addative.

I hope the advance products work for you.

We got some FPE in Eurolux satin to paint a piece of furniture to match the kitchen. We choose that because it does self-level and so far so good - finish is so smooth its a bit reflective and is drying hard. We're trying it as an overpaint for satin impervo on a stick of molding without a lot of prep. Its drying - don't know if that will work or not.

I've painted latex over old oil-based without batting an eye, but I'm not sure about going in the opposite direction.

I agree about valspar but at least SW ProClassic� Interior Acrylic-Alkyd doesn't come off and isn't nearly as gooey.

"Plasticy" is a great description of it - it makes me think of plastic wrapped packages of meat at the grocery store - they are soft and stick to each other?

Why don't you give BM a call and complain? Not sure you'll get any resolution, but a phone call and a followup letter might at least get you some free paint?

Did you post this in the Paint Forum section on GW? There are several posters who have lots of experience with paint.

I had a similar experience with the water-based satin impervo, painted a dresser 3 years ago and it's still got that weird plastic-y easily peel-able thing going on.

I have had great success with the BM Aura line. I painted a coffee table with semi-gloss Aura, no additional protective coating, and it's still perfect 2 years later. It gets plenty of abuse from my 4-yr-old son and there are often piles of books lying on it, but it's never been sticky or peeled. It's perfectly hard and doesn't scratch easily. I live in north FL, but the humidity seems not to have been an issue.

You would do well to stick with the FPE -- it's really excellent paint. Any color can be matched in that brand.

Alternately, Farrow & Ball makes excellent eggshell trim paint which costs a bit less and holds up very well and there's virtually no odor at all.

I switched over to these two brands several years ago for many of the reasons cited here. Folks on other forums will dispute it and many of the color gurus only use the major brands for various reasons. That's fine but I was tired of repainting every two years.

Recently, a friend I trust was using Muralo paint and likes it a lot but I haven't used it.

Oil-base over latex is tricky -- I'd do extra good prep on it. Each paint company should tell you what to do for their finish.

We used ACE Cabinet paint, another 'water-based alkyd', on our cabinet doors. Only available in semigloss, but that's what we wanted. It did not level as well as I hoped (drying time may have been affected by our lovely Texas climate), and my wobbly brush strokes were all too visible.

In the end we wet-sanded the marks out and sprayed the last coat. Came out very nice. Fully cured after about three weeks, which was fine since the cabinets weren't yet installed, and no tackiness whatsoever now. I'm not sure about the VOC, but I found the smell rather pleasant. Nothing like the sharp ammonia stench of so many latex primers and paints, and much less fume-ey than true alkyds.

As to the colors, well, there's the rub. Some ACE stores now offer Ben Moore paint (I assume you can then ask for your ACE paint in those tints?), but our local store sure doesn't, and their color chart is pretty limited. But in the end I found my perfect cream color. :)

Wow...Yuck. I'm sorry you've done so much work only to have so much trouble! We used the waterbased Satin Impervo for all the built-ins and furniture in our kids' rooms. While DH didn't think it flowed as well as the oil based for spraying, and also doesn't think it's as durable, it isn't sticky. I'm glad you're finding something that works.

lanval, I'm finishing up my cabinets with Ace Cabinet & Trim, too; I was happy with the difference between my cabinets done in Ace Cab. vs regular latex, and I wanted touch-ups to blend in (faint brush strokes ok), but spraying would definitely yield the smoothest finish. What color did you end up with? Our Ace carries BM, but even before we did, we could color match to chips or look up other companies' colors via fandeck match.

I have nothing to add about paint though sorry for your troubles, but waving furiously, HI!!

Oh, and I agree with what rococogurl wrote - oil over latex (Impervo is latex based, right?) is a no-no according to the wise folks on the paint forum. Hope you find another water-based paint that works for you. It' s SO frustrating at times, isn't it?

jessicaml - glad to hear you're happy with the Cabinet&Trim paint, too. I chose Distant White, it's a warm creamy color, trending very much toward yellow. I must be the only poster here who actually set out to find a yellowish creamy white... :)

I had one area on our inside cabinets where it got sticky. That was the only place. I had to scrape, re-sand, prime, and paint again. Now it's fine. So, clearly for me, it was my prep. The rest of the cabinets are fine.

It seems like you had some kind of quality control issue in your paint if it's that much.

I have have great results with SW duration.

I wanted to say that we are still drying the sample - we wanted it to have the best chance.

We also did something recommend by casey in the paint forum. We applied a light wax (butchers), let dry for a day and have a sewing machine parked on it and we'll see what happens after three days! I'm praying for it. 22 feet by 54" of mullioned casements inspire a lot of prayer.

I'm very interested to see whether the wax works. We are getting ready to repaint all of our trim and if I could avoid using alkyd that would make me very happy. We have never found anything that dries as hard as oil, so have always used it for interior trim but it drives me out of the house for several days as the smell makes me feel lousy. Also curious to see how FPE dries. It would have to be rock hard to justify the price, IMO.

By the way, Bmore, I've missed your innovative posts. Hope you've been well.