What white paint for a bench?

[audi321]

Hi all. I’ve been given some lovely offcuts of solid butchers block worktop and with one, I want to make a bench in my porch. But to match other items in the porch I need to paint it white.

But what paint would be best to use? I obviously need something extremely hard wearing as it’s going to be sat on and rubbed on and off as the family get up and down twice a day taking on and off shoes.

I’d have used an oil based paint normally but I don’t really want gloss and the yellowing that comes with oil based paint normally.

Any recommendations?

[DonkeyApple]

You can get linseed oil with pigment. Depends on the look you want.

[audi321]

Thanks. I hadn’t considered linseed oil paint as I didn’t think it was hard wearing enough.

Also I need it to be wipe clean as football boots and handprints are going to be all over it on a weekly basis.

Edited by audi321 on Monday 3rd February 23:24

[Digger]

Sounds interesting & fun.

Document the build please & final result - If you wish too of course

[DonkeyApple]

audi321 said:

Thanks. I hadn’t considered linseed oil paint as I didn’t think it was hard wearing enough.

Also I need it to be wipe clean as football boots and handprints are going to be all over it on a weekly basis.

Edited by audi321 on Monday 3rd February 23:24

It should be as hard wearing as any other paint but its advantage is that it won't flake or crack as the wood moves.

Scrubbing mud off any paint on a daily/weekly basis is going to produce a similar rate of wear but it'll be the cracking as the wood endlessly moves that can be prevented.

[.:ian:.]

Something like a hard wax meant for floors would work too. They won't be white though

[anonymous-user]

Seems a shame to paint it if it's really nice quality wood.

Perhaps you could oil the top but paint the legs white to match your existing furniture?

[audi321]

Yeah, I’ve already offered it up to see if I could leave it and I’ve decided it doesn’t look right and needs to be white unfortunately.

[C4ME]

I have used Zinsser Allcoat Exterior to do a bench. It comes in matt, satin or gloss. Initially quite a few coats and then maintain as required. I usually don’t paint outside wooden furniture, but this was a repaired bench that had a rotten seat so a Frankenstein creation.

[PhilboSE]

Could go to a decorators shop and ask for opinions but in the absence of that I’d maybe try Sadolin Superdec and then put a few coats of a matt tough varnish on top.

[Simpo Two]

audi321 said:

Thanks. I hadn’t considered linseed oil paint as I didn’t think it was hard wearing enough.

Linseed oil isn't paint, it's oil and soaks in, like stain. By contrast paint and varnish sit on top.

I'd leave it natural wood and use oil, if not linseed (which smells) then teak oil.

[DonkeyApple]

Simpo Two said:

audi321 said:

Thanks. I hadn’t considered linseed oil paint as I didn’t think it was hard wearing enough.

Linseed oil isn't paint, it's oil and soaks in, like stain. By contrast paint and varnish sit on top.

I'd leave it natural wood and use oil, if not linseed (which smells) then teak oil.

Yup. Linseed oil is just linseed oil. But linseed oil paint is just paint made the old way using linseed oil as the oil base. The only difference today is that this cheap, old paint has been rebranded so it can be sold with a higher price tag than the same paint made with other oils.

[audi321]

Ok I’m confused now. Some of you saying linseed oil isn’t a paint and some saying it is.

So is this paint or oil then? Yes I know it’s gloss not Matt.

https://www.earlespaint.co.uk/product/earles-linse...

[DonkeyApple]

audi321 said:

Ok I’m confused now. Some of you saying linseed oil isn’t a paint and some saying it is.

So is this paint or oil then? Yes I know it’s gloss not Matt.

https://www.earlespaint.co.uk/product/earles-linse...

Linseed oil paint is just normal paint that uses linseed oil as its base. Ie it's how paint used to be made before synthetics etc.

The advantage that old fashioned exterior oil paint has is that it tends to be much more flexible which is beneficial for wood that sits out in the seasons.

Grab the tester and see what you think. It's not cheap paint so best to test.

[richhead]

Depends what paint is on the other bits in there, but i would just use some satin wood and to protect it use something like this on top.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Polyvine-Protective-Decor...

this gives a hard wearing invisible coating, needs a couple of coats, you dont need much a little goes a very long way.
Ive even used it on bare wood to protect a finish on my coffee table, and that gets alot of abuse, plates, glasses etc, and it still looks good as new after 5 years.
it also works well around high use areas like light switches etc to protect matt wall paint.

[RGG]

Bedec Multi Purpose Paint.

It cures rock hard.

All Bedec paint is usually my go-to paint.

It's not in the mainstream list of options and deserves more coverage

https://bedec.co.uk/product/multi-surface-paint/

https://bedec.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1.-...

[mart 63]

Pliolite masonry paint, it will last for years.

[PhilboSE]

RGG said:

Bedec Multi Purpose Paint.

It cures rock hard.

All Bedec paint is usually my go-to paint.

It's not in the mainstream list of options and deserves more coverage

https://bedec.co.uk/product/multi-surface-paint/

https://bedec.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1.-...

That’s interesting…I’ve just used Bedec MSP to do all the new MDF skirting and architrave in a flat I’m renovating, on the advice of the decorator shop.

I wasn’t wildly impressed with the finish (doesn’t pull back much so has a tendency to show brush strokes) but if it’s durable that’ll be good.

[tones61]

Any boat/marine spec paint from a boat chandlers

[RGG]

PhilboSE said:

RGG said:

Bedec Multi Purpose Paint.

It cures rock hard.

All Bedec paint is usually my go-to paint.

It's not in the mainstream list of options and deserves more coverage

https://bedec.co.uk/product/multi-surface-paint/

https://bedec.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1.-...

That’s interesting…I’ve just used Bedec MSP to do all the new MDF skirting and architrave in a flat I’m renovating, on the advice of the decorator shop.

I wasn’t wildly impressed with the finish (doesn’t pull back much so has a tendency to show brush strokes) but if it’s durable that’ll be good.

I can see that - the pull back.

I used Bedec white gloss for some deep skirtings and used a roller which gave a very nice finish.