Will latex house paint work in place of wax to seal the ends of a wet stock blank or log?

I've got a down mesquite tree I intend to cut into blanks, lots of unused latex paint but little or no wax.

Thanks!

i build a fair amount of furniture as a hobby buisness and deal with rough lumber all the time. normally, the ends of more or less, standard dimension lumber don't have to be sealed water tight and latex paint would work well. it's used fairly commonly for that.
in the case of a piece cut as thick as a stock blank,however, a wax sealer would be appropriate. extended air-drying time because of it's thickness will cause the ends to over dry, or dry faster than the mid-areas and crack.
if you can't find any wax around,the ends can be painted with tightbond II glue also, it is water-proof, and commonly used by kilns on thicker lumber. i wouldn't trust latex paint to stay adhered to the endgrain for the time it will take to dry your mesquite. moisture escaping the endgrain will push the latex off the wood and once it's loosened, it might as well not be there. recoating will only be a hassel as you have to remove all the lossened latex in order to make the recoat work again, and the process will only repeat itself endlessly.

Thanks very much Merlinron, just what I needed.

If you need a Qt can of wax that is made for sealing wood,I can hook you up....

Dan

Dan, thanks, when I get to that point I may contact you. I have a little wax, lots more paint.

Roofing tar works well also, if you can't find anything else.

Just make sure you cut off the tar ends before you mill the logs.

Jim

Latex works just fine . Remember to reapply after a few days and use a few coats for best

results . We used it in the Bush World over when felling valued timber .