Painting Laminate

[dk1uk]

Hi - I'm hoping that someone can help me.

My outdoor porch ceiling is made of laminate flooring (not my choice - the previous owner did it!).

Rather than rip it all down, I'd like to paint it. I've found this laminate paint which would seem to be suitable - http://www.whiteknightpaints.com.au/specialty-paints/home-restoration/laminate-paint/

Has anyone got a view as to whether this would work or will I end up with a total mess?

Second question is whether anyone knows if this paint is available in the UK - searching the internet shows that you can only get White Knight paint in Australia!

Many thanks.

 

[emilybronte]

Good grief. Sounds like the Twits' house (in the Roald Dahl kids' story).

It should offend anyone with a modicum of taste. Don't even think about painting it. Get the whole lot off and do it properly. Every day it stays up there looking naff, it is reducing the value of your house.

Laminate is bad enough, but painted laminate is the pits.

 

[madder]

While I agree that you really should just get it down out of there, you do have other solutions if you really must live with it there. ESP(easy surface prep) claims to prime ANY surface for painting. I have used it twice, once on Melamine and once o a Fridge Freezer. Worked well both times. Should be easily available from trade paint shops, or perhaps from Homebase or B&Q. I think Owatral make it. Wipes on with a cloth as far as I remember and then the surface is paintable in the normal way with any type of paint. Can I suggest that if you are gonna keep this stuff up there, try to make it look less like what it is, maybe by filling any gaps/joints.

 

[dk1uk]

Thanks for the replies. I know where you're coming from and perhaps I have a deluded idea about how much better it will look painted. I was thinking of replacing it with t&g panelling...and then I thought...once the t&g is painted, it won't actually look much different than the stuff that's up there already.

The only risk is that I go to the trouble of painting it, find it looks dreadful and then rip it all down and start again anyway (have been there before).

Thanks for the advice on the paint.