6 Tips for Using Eggshell Paint in Your Kitchen

Using eggshell paint in your kitchen offers a hard wearing and durable painted surface which can easily be washed. Your kitchen comes under some serious abuse from flying grease and dust. Grease can become airborne and will stick to all surfaces. Using washable paint can help to keep your kitchen free of grease.

1. Heavy Use Areas

Your kitchen receives a large amount of abuse through everyday use and cooking. Some paints do not cope well with the amount of abuse a kitchen takes. Eggshell paint is a good choice for these rooms since it creates a washable surface that can be easily cleaned. It also offers a soft sheen to the walls without being too glossy or shiny.

2. Protection

Using an oil-based eggshell paint on your kitchen walls offers a greater amount of protection compared to a water-based eggshell paint. While the differences between the two are barely noticeable, when used in a kitchen, the oil-based paint has an advantage. Oil-based paints have a more oily surface. This is not to say that they feel oily or greasy, but their compounds include oil, which, when dry, offers higher resistance to other outside greases penetrating its surface.

3. Coating

Using eggshell on your kitchen walls offers a better seal. Give the wall at least three coats for longer lasting effects. It is less permeable than softer paint like satin or flat paint and will offer your painted kitchen walls a more durable surface which will last a lot longer than other paint compounds. They are easy to wipe down after receiving splash marks too.

4. Heavy Grease Areas

Preparing your kitchen walls properly before painting your new coat of eggshell is paramount in creating a long-lasting surface for the paint. Clean the walls thoroughly with a good kitchen grade cleaning solution which will remove any extraneous grease marks or coverings. Pay special attention around the area of your cooker, as this will cause grease splashes and spots on walls near the back of the cooker, unless you have a tiled backsplash.

5. Good Light Reflection

Owing to its properties, eggshell paint is more of a glossy paint than a flat paint. Therefore, using eggshell in your kitchen will offer a good reflective surface to allow natural and artificial light to reflect around the room. Use eggshell on the walls, but unless you have a totally unblemished ceiling, it is suggested that you stay away from eggshell and use a flat paint. It’s non-reflective surface will disguise blemishes better than eggshell will.

6. Cupboards

If you are painting the cupboards in your kitchen and you are unsure what sort of paint will work best, you could consider eggshell paint. Provided you sand the cupboard doors thoroughly and offer a good bonding surface, eggshell will provide a good quality finish to your cupboards. Apply three coats for best results. You can also use a spray varnish to seal the paint and protect it from finger marks.