Skirting boards are one of those features that can really make a room look special…or really let it down. They protect the bottom of the wall from scuffs from shoes, pets and vacuuming, and they also cover the gap between the floor and the bottom of the plaster – without skirting, this would look awful!
Often too little thought is put into choosing paint for the skirting, but we need to carefully consider various factors such as durability, ease of cleaning, aesthetics and so on, to find the ideal paint for the skirting boards in your room.
What to Consider when Choosing Paint for Skirting Boards
There is no “one size fits all” answer to the question “What is the best paint for skirting boards?” It depends on your personal tastes, and on the room that you’re painting, and how that room is used. There are four main factors to consider when choosing skirting board paint:
Colour
As a professional decorator, I would guess that in 99% of the rooms I’ve painted, customers have chosen white for their skirting boards. Nothing wrong with that, but sometimes (as in the photo above) using a strong colour can make a real feature of the skirting and other woodwork, and make the room feel truly unique and special.
Finish
While I’d estimate that around 80% of the skirting boards I’ve painted in the last five years have been done in satin, there’s no reason why you couldn’t paint them in matt, eggshell or gloss if you prefer. But when making this choice, you do need to be mindful of the “practical” factors.
Durability
There is no point using a paint that looks stunning initially, but isn’t very hard-wearing, especially if the room is likely to get a lot of wear-and-tear. This is where “how the room is used” becomes important.
Ease of cleaning
Similarly, if the skirting is likely to be subjected to spills, splashes and other factors that will make it dirty, you need a paint that is easy to wipe clean, and will cope with being wiped regularly.
The Different Types of Paint for Skirting Boards
Just a brief word on the types of finish available, and the pros and cons of each:
Oil-based vs water-based paint
Water-based paints have the advantages of being more environmentally friendly, lower odour, more child- and pet-friendly and quicker drying. Historically the finish wasn’t always as good as oil-based, and they weren’t as hard-wearing, but recent developments have made massive improvements in these areas.
In white, oil-based paints have a habit of turning yellow over time, which water-based paints don’t do to anything like the same extent, if at all. Read more about the pros and cons of oil- and water-based paints here.
Matt
Matt finish for woodwork has come back into fashion recently. It’s ideal if you’re colour drenching or painting your skirting with the same paint as your wood panelling for example.
It’s also very good at hiding imperfections in the woodwork, as it’s less light-reflective than other finishes. On the downside, matt finishes tend to be less durable and less easy to wipe clean (but there are exceptions and improvements being made all the time).
Eggshell
Eggshell finish is the next step up the “sheen scale” from matt. Very fashionable now, ideal for wood panelling and colour drenching, but like matt, eggshells tend to be less easy to clean and less durable than higher sheen finishes. They’re perfect for dining rooms or snugs, but less well suited to hallways, kitchens, children’s bedrooms etc.
Satinwood
Satin finish is by far the most popular finish for internal woodwork now. There are some hard-wearing satin paints available in both oil- and water-based formulations, and satin provides a beautifully smooth, easy-to-clean finish without the high sheen level of a gloss.
Gloss
Pretty much all we used when I first started out as a decorator, gloss has fallen out of fashion these days. While the high sheen look may no longer be everyone’s cup of tea, gloss is the easiest finish to wipe clean, and when properly cured the old oil-based gloss paints used to be super hard-wearing.
Best Primers for Painting Skirting
Before we look at recommendations for the finish coats, it’s important to choose the right primer and/or undercoat, to ensure that your topcoats adhere properly. The choice of primer will depend on what paint (if any) is already on the skirting:
New natural softwood
If your skirting is bare softwood that has never been painted or varnished etc, you will first need to treat all the knots in it with knotting treatment (available online here) or a shellac-based primer such as Fiddes Full Stop, to stop any sap or tannins from bleeding through.
I would then apply two coats of a water-based wood primer such as Johnstone’s Trade Joncryl, with a sand down between coats to remove raised wood grain.
New “pre-primed” MDF
Although it comes “pre-primed” from the factory, to ensure good adhesion and to help obliterate the colour of the MDF I would still apply one coat of water-based primer-undercoat.
Skirting already painted with oil-based paint
If you are re-painting with oil-based, after prepping the surface you should apply your oil-based undercoat. If you are painting over oil- with water-based, you need a really thorough key, and then a coat of a good adhesion primer like Johnstone’s Aqua Guard Primer.
Skirting already painted with water-based paint
In most cases, if you are sure that the existing paint is water-based and you are thorough with your cleaning and prep, you should be fine to skip the primer and go straight on with your water-based topcoats.
Stained and/or varnished skirting
Painting over stained or varnished skirting requires thorough cleaning first (there could be furniture polish or wax on top), then a really good key, followed by two coats of a primer with stain-blocking abilities such as Zinsser Cover Stain; if you don’t know exactly what the wood was treated with before, this is a great option, as it provides fantastic adhesion to varnish, as well as blocking out any stains or tannins that might otherwise bleed through.
Best Matt Paint for Skirting Boards
The choice is quite limited with matt paints, but fortunately that doesn’t mean you’re stuck with a poor-quality option. Johnstone’s Trade Aqua Guard Matt is relatively new to the market, and I absolutely love it – I can’t wait for another project where I’ll be able to use it!
It’s water-based, but relatively hard-wearing and a joy to use. It lays off nicely for a super-smooth finish – just make sure that you don’t apply too thick a coat or overload the moulded details of the skirting, as it can drip a bit, and being water-based it dries quickly so you can’t hang around while applying it, but once you get used to it it’s a great product.
Click here for product details.
Click here for product details.
Best Eggshell Paint for Skirting Boards
There are a whole host of suggestions in our blog “The Best Eggshell Paints for Woodwork”. Recently, I’ve been using Benjamin Moore Scuff-X Eggshell, and it seems to combine the best of all factors – it’s water-based, hard-wearing, is easy to work with and gives a great finish, but there are lots of other good options around too.
Click here for product details.
Best Satinwood Paint for Skirting Boards
Again, there are plenty of good options out there, but it’s hard to look beyond Johnstone’s Trade Aqua Guard Satin. This is a fully water-based paint that’s very durable. The finish is lovely! This is a paint I have absolute faith in, and use on a regular basis.
Click here for product details.
Click here for product details.
Best Gloss Paints for Skirting Boards
If you want the ultimate in easy-to-clean durable finishes, oil-based gloss still does the job, but has many downsides. For water-based options, Teknos Futura Aqua 90 gives the best sheen I’ve found so far. Johnstone’s Trade Aqua Guard Gloss is my recommendation though. It is slightly lower sheen, but harder wearing and once you get the hang of it, gives a lovely finish.
Final Thoughts
Skirting boards are an important part of a room, both practically and aesthetically, and deserve a little TLC. Choosing a suitable paint is really important if you want to achieve your desired look and keep your skirting looking its best with durable and easy-to-clean products. If you are looking for ultra-low VOC, non-toxic paints for use in children’s rooms, click here for suggestions. For a comprehensive guide on how to paint skirting boards, click here. Hopefully with all that information on board, you’re now fully equipped to do your skirting boards proud!
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