As BobP said you must have some real brush speed with a 5 min epoxy. All epoxies are not the same and the two leaders in the race are Etex and Devcon 2 ton, I use Etex which I like and trust, users of 2ton will no doubt say the same. I know a lot of fellas here use water based acrylics and I've used them myself but prefer good old Nitro . I dont think paint type is as important as the coat that protects it, get that right and the paint is ok no matter what it is.
philB