What Sort Of Paint Should I Use Where?

When you are working out your colour scheme for your new look, don't overlook the finish you want to achieve for the surface. There is a lot more to paints than just ones for wood, walls and window sills.

Selling Your Home?

Don't Leave Money
On The Table
Prepare your home to sell for more, faster!
Home Staging Handbook

We are going to take a look at what paint to use where in the room scheme and also the different finishes that you can get with paints.

Modern paints are quite amazing. Where as in the past you needed to do a great deal of preparation on surfaces, if you wanted to get halfway decent results, but with today's modern formulations, you can virtually slap on the paint and not only will it stick but it will also look good.

However there is no substitute to doing the general preparation and of course choosing the right paint for the job.

For more on preparation before you paint, see the later article 'preparing to paint'.

Lets talk general

What paint to use where?

top

Walls and ceilings

Emulsion is the general choice for these large areas.

Vinyl Matt will give a flat no-shine finish that is good when disguising uneven surfaces or where you want to reduce the glare from a lot of light coming from one direction, such as in a narrow room with a window at the far end. The problem with any matt finish is it quickly shows up marks, especially greasy fingers and heads (in the case of walls behind beds, where you may sit up).Matt emulsions 'cut' the light and have a slightly more sophisticated look to them.

Vinyl Silk is an option in high use areas like hallways. This has a low sheen that allows light to travel along the surface. These paints have better ware and can be wiped down lightly. Don't use a silk emulsion if you are trying to hide a walls imperfections, the sheen will only highlight the lumps, bumps and blemishes.

Bathroom & Kitchen Emulsions are tougher again. They have harder wearing properties and can withstand the steamier/ wetter environments. They also stand up to tougher wiping down. These paints are not designed however, for constant heavy wetting, such as in shower areas.

One Coat emulsions claim to be able to give good results in just one application. Though I am sceptical of this. In my experience, unless you are covering the same colour, they do not cover different colours satisfactorily and need two coats...thus defeating the whole purpose. They are also a lot more expensive and come in a reduced range of colours. Buy a standard paint and apply two coats!

Ceiling paints and Solid emulsions are formulated to be applied using rollers and their polymer makeup reduces the 'splatter' of paint. You will pay a hefty premium for these paints however. Again I recommend that you buy a good quality emulsion, use high quality rollers, Harris Ultima give a very even low splatter finish.

Textured paints - there are a number of textured paints on the market today. Suede, Touch of Sand, Black Board, Linen. These have added grains and fibres to give the painted surface some relief texture. Dulux, Crown, Benjamin Moore and others offer a range of such paints that have grainy or other finishes. These paints can be good for use on uneven wall surfaces or where you want to add some interest to a very bland large area of wall.

Beware, I always recommend that you line the walls first, before applying these paints, as they can be murder to remove if you change your mind in the future.

Pink to White paints - These are those paints designed to show you 'where' you have just painted. I am not a big fan of these. Yes they do go on pink, so you can see where they have been applied, but I find that they retain a little bit of their colour and they have a nasty slight sheen to them. Plus they are much more expensive. My advice is to work methodically with your roller and give a second coat to catch those bits you missed. You'll get a better job in the end.

top

Floor Paint

These are paints designed for much harder ware and tear. They can be used on both wood and concrete.

Woodwork and Metal

Classically these surfaces have been painted with oil based paints that adhere to these surfaces well and survive the, often, heavier use that doors, skirting/ kickboards, windows and floor level pipes are subjected to. These areas take more knocks and bangs and need to resist, in the case of pipes and windows, heating up and cooling down as well as rain.

However with the advance in polymer technology there are now very good 'water-based' paints that can give good results on wood and metal work. These water based paints usually have a lower odour, dry more quickly, for recoating and allow you to wash brushes with water rather than turps or white spirit.

top

However they are not as hard wearing as their 'gloss' originals. I recommend that in very heavy ware or exterior situations you use 'Oil' based gloss for the durability that it gives.

Standard Gloss - Is a high shine finish traditionally used on wood and metal work. The paint is quite liquid and needs to be applied in thin coats. For perfect results the surface needs to be perfectly prepared, primed, undercoated and then given two, three or even four coats of top coat of gloss, each with a light rub down in-between. Traditional gloss painting is seen as quite a time consuming and laborious job. If you are considering paying to get someone to paint your woodwork for you, beware that it will cost ...alot!

High Sheen Ship Gloss - Even shinier that your standard gloss. This gloss gives a mirror like finish, if preparation and technique are perfect. Again this is a job for a professional or if you have a great deal of time to give to the job.

Non Drip Gloss - as the name suggest, this has been formulated to be applied without all the danger of runs, drips and pools. It is formulated so that as you apply pressure from the brush, the polymers break up and spread over the surface being painted. For this reason never stir a non-drip gloss. Also don't over paint a surface or you will end up with 'runny' non-drip gloss. Be careful not to apply this too thickly or the paint may never dry properly underneath the skin that forms on the surface.

You will get quite good results from this paint, but not the professional finish that using traditional gloss will give.

Eggshell or Satinwood - These are also paints that can be oil or now water based. The wearability is the same as for gloss. These paints give a low to mid sheen finish and are considered more contemporary as a finish.

Dead Flat Oils - These are matt oil paints that give an historic velvety matt look to the finished surface. Where you want or need the hard wearing qualities of oil paints but would like the look of a matt emulsion. Farrow & Ball do a full range of Dead Flat Oils in most of their colours.

Dead flat oils are suitable for wood, metal and plaster surfaces and are often used on mouldings, skirting, panelling and doors.

Unlike it's cousins, 'gloss' & 'eggshell', Dead Flat Oil will show marks and is not wipeable. It is unsuitable for Kitchens and bathrooms as a result.

top

Spray paints

These are paints that come in an aerosol can (no good if you want to go the green route!). This is almost a whole subject all of it's own. Spray paints used to come in a limited range of colours and finishes but today there is a vast range to choose from.

Enamel, Faux Suede, Linen Effect, Verdigris, Craquelour, Hammered, shiny, matt, smooth.

For glass, wood, metal, rubber, plastic, linen.

These paints are great for dealing with uneven and intricate surfaces such as radiators, fretwork (on radiator covers for instance), rounded surfaces like moulded metal and wood or just on large areas that you want to give a very specific effect to.

They are not like standard paint formulations so follow the manufacturers instructions to the letter or you will get very poor results.

Warning - work in a well-ventilated room, if outside then be wary of windy days!

top

Useful Resources

Standard Paints

Dulux - www.dulux.co.uk
Crown - www.crownpaints.co.uk
Johnstones - www.johnstones-paints.co.uk
Farrow & Ball - www.farrow-ball.com
Fired Earth - www.firedearth.com
Little Greene Paints - www.littlegreene.com
Laura Ashley - www.lauraashley
Benjamin Moore - This great US website is of interest to anyone who is decorating. There is loads of useful information on how to decorate with paint, how to try out colour schemes and loads of inspirational ideas - www.benjaminmoore.ca/howto/paint

Specialist Paints/ Spray Paints/ Tile Paints

International Paints - www.international-paints.co.uk
Plasikote - www.plasti-kote.com
Zinnser - www.zinsser.com

Paint Forum - is another great information resource for anyone wanting to know more about paint and how to use it - www.painterforum.com

The Paint Qulity Institute - has websites based in all major countries so there is a British site, a US site etc Great for all things paint and paint quality - www.paintquality.co.uk/ www.paintquality.com

The BBC - offers fantastic free advice on all things home decorating. Check out their home DIY section for loads of ideas and advice on how to do it right www.bbc.co.uk/homes/diy/paintcalculator

The Green Guardian - This site takes a look at the greener side of decorating. Find out what products to use to help care for the environment. Find out how to ethically and dispose of unused paint and other decorating products.www.greenguardian.com

This Old House - A US building show has this great website for any enthusiastic DIYer. Take a look for lots of ideas about caring for your property and doing the job right. www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/knowhow/interiors/article

top

Have you got an article about buying or using decorating materials or tools?

Why not send me your article and I'll post it on the website with your name and website link.

There are loads of good ideas on how to 'Use What You've Got' or buy and use second hand furniture and furnishings in The Property Coach 'Home Staging Handbook'.