I feel suspicious about special bathroom paint

[Heartsease]

Do I really need it? There will be tiles in all the right places. I am sure all the bathrooms I have ever used in the past have just had normal emulsion on the walls. I have done some testers and I don't like the vinyl sheen of it. Also, isn't it hard to paint over in future? I am, however, prepared to be convinced .

i used kitchen & bathroom in our kitchen -

it doesn't take repeated wetting (as the bit behind the sink testifies) though it stands up to it better than ordinary paint. the bit by our kitchen door gets damp and it has taken repeated damping better than conventional paint - also wipes clean.

it can be painted over (as the bits where i have accidentally patched over it with emulsion show) though if i was doing a large area i'd probs sand it a bit first.

depending on how wet you expect the areas painted to get, it may be worth it.

Silk is a really good tip, thanks sooz. I have also been really dismayed by the limited colours available in bathroom paint. We've spent a lot of time choosing flooring and units and so on and I don't want to pick paint that isn't quite right just because it's got the word 'bathroom' on the tin'.

Definitely convinced about it for the kitchen, EAP, thanks for the detailed post. I think we will need to sand the existing sheeny paint to go over it. Wiping clean sounds good .

As PP have said, I think it depends where in the bathroom the painted area will be and whether it will come into contact with water. We have one painted wall, on the right hand side, which is painted in just ordinary matt paint which looks great but it doesnt come into contact with water.

Hmm yes, I see the point. I think that the wall at the foot of the bath might be at risk of shower splashes, so I had better go for something robust. I think I will consult with the fitters on Monday, as they seem to be fab and certainly know a lot more about bathrooms than I do! Thanks all.

heartsease, can you get to a dulux colour mixing place? I don't know if they'll do the kitchen/bathroom formulation but they do the 'endurance' one which is very wipable (unlike regular matt) and not too sheeny.

I've used Crown bathroom emulsion in our bathroom and it has stood up to the rather damp atmosphere pretty well (and it's in a nice colour!).

That's a good idea, aquavit. I have been a bit in love with those mixing desks and all the coloured cards since i was about 4. I have never actually used one though. I think I am a bit scared that if we go down that route, we will NEVER choose a colour!

I might still use Crown bathroom paint (in Oxygen), as I like the colour, but am finding it envisage the whole effect even after much testing.

Oh good point. I like the term 'men's splashes', that's very delicate . Luckily I have a DP who thinks it civilised to sit down to wee, but he does wash his face like a sparrow in a birdbath, so realistically there will be splashing.

More than anything, I think it is specially formulated to withstand steam rather than lots of splashing.

Friend was a decorator and he always used it (Dulux). TBH I would pay the extra.

I never even thought about special bathroom paint! I just used some spare from painting another room.
Thankfully we have tiles behind the sink and by part of the bath so that's probably why I've got away with it.

Oh Heartsease you made me laugh with your sparrow comment. And where did you find this civilised man!?
I've also been in love with the paint chips since I was a kid. I'd love to mix paint haha.

to never choose a colour

we spent AGES pondering several near-identical shades of green for dd's bedroom and still haven't actually painted it...

lorna DP is A Foreigner .

aquavit I think I will paper the wall with a rainbow of paint chips instead of all this. Cheap and saves decision making. Men's splashes can easily be covered with fresh cards.

Are you hoarding the green paint for your dd's room? Are you having... doubts?

SHHHH!!! It took flipping AGES to decide!

Actually, it's just that we've decided to move house, so I didn't get the paint made up yet. Now the real trick will be to see if we can remember which green it was we decided we liked...mind you perhaps in the new house we'll have to start the process all over again.

Or, we could just steal your idea and plaster it with the paint chips. DD is only 1 so I don't think she'll care.

We are bloody amateurs so painted our bathroom with normal matt paint. TBH, it hasn't suffered in the damp - much - but we're careful to open the window after a shower or bath. And it does stain annoyingly - the pewter light-pull has 'drawn' a little grey cresent on the wall where it swings, and as for 'men's splashers' - DH doesn't seem to do that, but does leave icky dots and splashes of blood on the wall when he flosses his teeth! I feel like a forensics worker when I wipe those off the wall...

splashes, not splashers, I meant. Tsk.

CSI bathroom !

Oops, hadn't finished.

I am now thoroughly convinced that wipeability is a Good Thing . The man in the local decorators' centre told us that Soft Sheen would disguise imperfections, but Silk would emphasise them. Not sure how that works, but I'm prepared to believe him. Looks like we'll be going for Soft Sheen something.

Have no idea why I capitalised 'soft sheen' and 'silk'.

I have recently painted my bathroom in Paint by Conran, VERVAIN never even knew they made paint. Anyway its a matt emulsion (can be used in bathrooms and kitchen) looks amazing, it rates high with scrubability rates and is wipeable as marks and me do not get on.

I too was suspicious about bathroom paint. I painted mine with a lovely Dulux matt. it looked GORGEOUS!!

For 3 days.

After that the condensation left permanent runs in the paint and it looked horrible :-(

This is an old thread, but our bathroom was painted in what I can only describe as a shitty brown bathroom paint. The paint itself was very resilient. We are now having the room tiled completely and it is looking fab. I've used Dulux Trade Diamond Matt on the ceiling as I didn't want sheen up there and it was matt white before anyway.