Painting wardrobe doors

[Brian C.]

Hi all,

I am looking to paint the sliding wardrobe doors in our bedroom. They appear to be made of plastic, formally white they have turned yellow over the years.

As the doors are otherwise in good condition together with the mirrors, tracks & running gear I am hoping I could use white silk emulsion to brighten them up, would this work?

Thankyou for any advice.

 

[Tigercubrider]

There is a pre paint solution that roughs up the surface and stops the paint from falling off

 

[misterhelpful]

You won't get away with just applying silk emulsion to plastic/vinyl doors. As mentioned, you will need some form of bonding preparation before applying any standard finish paint. There are things like ESP (easy surface preparation) products available - Owatrol makes a pretty reliable one.

You can also use a high grip primer, which can be applied directly to the doors without sanding/keying. Zinsser is the go-to brand within the trade and they have various primers for all types of substrate. Have a look at them all and choose which would be best for your situation.

After either of these products, you can technically apply any topcoat you wish, but I still wouldn't recommend a standard silk emulsion. Your best bet would be an oil based satinwood finish, although some white versions of these can also yellow, defeating the purpose of the task in hand. An acrylic eggshell would also be an option, which has the added bonus of staying white.

If you really want to avoid any preparation work, Bedec Multi Surface Paint is good, but I've never used it on the type of surface you have, so I can't guarantee how well it would work.
Rustoleum also make a multi surface paint, which can be applied directly to plastic but, again, I can't vouch for it's reliability.

 

[Brian C.]

Thank you both tigercubrider and Misterhelpful. Good sound advice. I have used Zinsser products 5 or 6 years ago when the bathroom ceiling was flaking over the shower, no trouble since.
Thank you again,

Brian.