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How to paint caravan ensuite?

bakera
Finding My Feet

How to paint caravan ensuite?

Hello,  I've just bought an older caravan with a shower/toilet combined ensuite. It's pretty old and yellow so wanting to paint it to update.  Any suggestions on what to paint it with?  It seems to be plastic.  Cheers tia

MitchellMc
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: How to paint caravan ensuite

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @bakera. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about painting plastic.

Most paint manufacturers don't like recommending their coatings for humid environments such as shower stalls. Apart from the constant hot and wet cycles, soap scum impregnated into the surfaces reduces paints' ability to adhere sufficiently. 

 

This sounds like it might be an at-your-own risk type of scenario. If you thoroughly scrub down the surfaces at least twice with Sugar soap, it will remove most of the build-up. I'd recommend abraiding and keying the surfaces with 240-grit sandpaper to remove the plastics slick surface and any gloss. You can then apply ESP Easy Surface Prep followed up by your topcoat. The ESP product advises that it removes the need to sand, but in my opinion, I would still recommend that you do.

 

Your top coat is going to be the next curly one. I suspect you'd want it in a spray form which will give you the best finish. You could try White Knight Squirts, but I'm dubious about its wear resistance. If some of these surfaces are on the floor, I imagine it will easily chip. An alternative would be Dulux Metalshield Epoxy Enamel. It's typically designed for coating metal, but it is the most durable of our spray products.

 

If these surfaces are walls, it could be an idea to do away with the ESP and stick to a system like Dulux Duramax Plastic Primer and Duramax Gloss White Spray paint. You'd then have the peace of mind that the primer and paint work well together.

 

Let me mention a few of our caravan renovation experts @FloTheCaravan, @Peggers, @twocutekelpies and @VickiD to see how they've dealt with rejuvenating plastic surfaces.

Mitchell
 

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Re: How to paint caravan ensuite

Thank you Mitchell for your advice and information,  much appreciated 👍 

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