Latexes have been used for many years in architectural coatings and are the major type of vehicle for these coatings. For household applications, such as flat wall paint, the advantages of latex paints over any solvent-born paint are so large that solvent-born paints are seldom marketed. Important advantages of interior latex paint include rapid drying, low solvent odor, absence of odor of oxidation byproducts of drying oils and alkyds, easy cleanup, reduced fire hazard, and better long term retention of mechanical properties. For exterior paints, the major advantage is that exterior durability of high performance latex paints is superior to drying oil or alkyd paints. On wood siding, blistering is reduced, since the latex films are more permeable to water vapor. On the other hand, adhesion of latex paints to chalky surfaces is inferior to solvent-born paints.
An advantage of latexes is that their high molecular weights provide excellent mechanical properties without need for cross-linking. The viscosity of latexes is independent of molecular weight, so they can be applied at relatively high solids even though their molecular weight is high. In highly pigmented coatings, the fraction of internal phase volume becomes so large that the solids level has to be reduced, but the reduction is done primarily with water so that VOC emissions are minimal.