Hi! We moved into a house built in 1993, in which all the interior doors are this gawd-awful dirty-yellow-cream-coloured plastic, moulded to look like wood. Given the other colours in house, painting them a dark apricot or brick colour would work well. But i'll make-do with white if need be.
My guess is that standard latex interior paint is not going to adhere at all. How would I go about doing this? How does one paint plastic? I have twelve doors to do in total.
Or ... would the only option be to replace them?
Many thanks for your help and suggestions. :)
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Painting
I would suggest you replace them. Plastic door can look a bit odd if not painted properly.
Choosing the best paint that will help to improve the environment in your space choose the a color that is lighter and will give a wide space.
I think there is no issue in painting plastic interior doors however if you want to choose colours for your interior doors then blue can be a good option.
There are special primers and paints made especially for painting over plastic. Check with your local hardware store.
This is a nice idea to paint doors such that it will look like wood .Now it may suit with your house and other decorative items made up of wood.
The secret is to make sure the surface is clean and to use the right primer. Chipping is not something that will happen with good primer and paint. It is something that happens with melamine (gads I hate that stuff and have no idea why people use it because it can chip so badly regardless (IMO) of what paint stores tell you.).
Anyway, just wash the door with something like watered down ammonia (it will cut all grease and is way cheaper than products that just contain it although it does stink for a bit so open windows are a good thing. You can find it with things like bleach in the grocery stores for a couple of dollars and it will last a long time (dilution instructions are usually on the container and it's sometimes called sudsing ammonia). It's really good for cleaning anything but especially plastic type surfaces). Make sure the door is free of any grease (finger prints), dirt/dust, or other soap residue. Sand out any lumps or bumps that may be there then prime with something like the Zinsser (it's just the best stuff ever for sticking to various surfaces and you don't need to scuff sand before you use it either which is not true of many primers), and then paint with a good, durable, latex paint.
I was wondering what the correct procedure was for painting plastic interior panels, etc. I know you probably need to clean the part and then wash with some sort of solvent. what is the best way?
I want this to last. i see some people with painted panels that chip really easily.
I'll second the Zinsser primer except to say their water based ones are also just great without all the fuss and such of oil based.. That stuff sticks to just about anything including things like glass so plastic is no problem. It's just super stuff to have around as you can use it inside and out so you can always buy the gallons and be assured it will be useful to you. You can get it at pretty much any place that sells paint so prices can vary and it pays to shop around if that is an issue.
I highly recommend Zinsser Bulls Eye Odorless primer. Great stuff! It's an oil-based primer, but I found it to be really good when I painted my old bathroom cabinet doors. You can follow with oil or latex paint, but I chose latex.
Mrs Peacock is correct in that they can be painted. An oil primer would work best, but any latex would work as well IF you scuff up the surface with some fine sandpaper. A light sanding will give the primer something to grab onto. Then your final colour/coat will go on very easily.
I believe these doors are not plastic but are fibreglass or hardboard. You should be able to just prime the doors and then paint them with your latex paint. If you are not sure what the finish is on the doors, you can prime with an oil base primer and then still paint with a latex paint. Odds are though, that these doors are the colour that came from the factory. You can also put on a gel stain from Minwax that comes in wood tone colours so it will give the appearance of a wooden door with the faux wood grain that is embossed in them.