HELP OIL BASED v Water Based

[madjeff]

I have hardwood window frames previously stained with sikkens, but the last owner put an even darker stain outside which now looks awful. We want to brighten it up with a lighter colour like off white or cream, so need an opaque product. Local decorator shop tells me "JOTUN DEMIDEKK ULTIMATE" stain is the bees knees. So brought a tin to try. Found existing coatings on windows easy to rub down and in many places was able to take it back to bare wood with ease. Tried the Jotun system on a couple of windows. First I found bristle brush was useless kept clogging up so replaced with a cheap nylon type which was better. The paint almost dries as you apply, so you have to be quick. Had to use three coats to cover, and still a little bit of shadow and brush marks show. hard to get a good clean line at window edges, also appears soft so I can easily pick a bit off with my fingernail. The finish is flat and look a bit like an undercoat but it comes with a 12 year maintenance free promise. So I was sort of happy to persevere.

Now the difficult bit, I decide to get a professional in to complete the job. He looks at my work, does not like any of the aforementioned problems, said water based has a long way to go to beat oil based etc, etc, Said it will take much longer to complete and suggested a German oil based paint that only requires two coats and no undercoat, but has gone away to give me a price on both.

I'm left between a rock and a hard place, which way do I go?

 

[dcdec]

Bristle brushes are no good but that doesn't mean using a cheap synthetic. You still need to use a good quality brush like a purdy to achieve satisfactory results.

Your man is right to be cautious and it sounds like he knows from experience that following your work could be problematic and he's right. At the end of the day the job will have his name on it.

I havn't used Jotun but a quick search brings up favourable comments from decorators that have so i would say your dissatisfaction is due to your lack of skills rather than the product, its not really the paints fault that you can't cut a straight line in. WB paint will appear soft as it takes longer to fully cure.
Wb paints do not have as high gloss level as oil based, but shouldn't look like u/c, are you sure it wasn't a satin or eggshell finish you applied?

Not sure what 'german ' paint he means but sadolin superdec is well favoured by pro's and thats a two coat no u/c job, so could be something very similar. I don't think sadolin is German.

Wait and see what your dec says, he sounds ok