kid-proof, dog-proof, dirt-proof paint

[K]

I'm painting the front hall, stairwell and landing and wanted to get=20 opinions on what paint to use. We have kids and dogs and the hall is=20 narrow enough that people and bags etc bump into and brush against the=20 walls frequently, so it's definitely a high-traffic area, and gets dirty=20 very fast.

I got very excited by that self-cleaning paint that was on Grand=20 Designs, but a) it's only for exteriors and b) it's =A350 for 5 litres.=20 Apart from that, it would be perfect ;-)

So what I'm looking for, I suppose, is something that's easy to wipe=20 clean, that will stand up to the kind of beating it's going to get and=20 repeated washing. I know a tough high-gloss would be the hardest- wearing, but I don't think it would look good. I also considered acrylic=20 panels over the wall, but again, the look...

Any suggestions for the best brand and type of paint I can use?

TIA

--=20 KVL

[Ex-tiscali]

I got very excited by that self-cleaning paint that was on Grand Designs, but a) it's only for exteriors and b) it's £50 for 5 litres. Apart from that, it would be perfect ;-)

So what I'm looking for, I suppose, is something that's easy to wipe clean, that will stand up to the kind of beating it's going to get and repeated washing. I know a tough high-gloss would be the hardest- wearing, but I don't think it would look good. I also considered acrylic panels over the wall, but again, the look...

Any suggestions for the best brand and type of paint I can use?

Tiles?

[TMC]

I got very excited by that self-cleaning paint that was on Grand Designs, but a) it's only for exteriors and b) it's £50 for 5 litres. Apart from that, it would be perfect ;-)

So what I'm looking for, I suppose, is something that's easy to wipe clean, that will stand up to the kind of beating it's going to get and repeated washing. I know a tough high-gloss would be the hardest- wearing, but I don't think it would look good. I also considered acrylic panels over the wall, but again, the look...

Any suggestions for the best brand and type of paint I can use?

TIA

[K]

I thought of that, but it's already quite echo-y and, well, y'know, kids and dogs can be noisy ;-)

[K]

There's already a dado rail and I'd considered different shades below and above, but the colour needs to coordinate with the rooms off the hall, plus the the colour will be carried through to the kitchen, which means I've had to choose something that works with three different floors (two tiled, one carpeted) and it's been difficult enough to choose one colour, never mind two. Also the hall is long and narrow, which I think would be emphasised by different shades top and bottom. We're going with a taupe shade, which I hope will not show dirt too easily - but it *will* get dirty, no matter what colour I use, so my main consideration now is getting as resilient a paint as I can.

[TMC]

[Rod]

Victorian houses sometimes (frequently? rarely?) had a dado rail with a form of anaglypta/embossed paper below the rail. This then painted with, I imagine, a full set of under and top coats of oil-based paints. Typically either creamy or a rich colour. Ended up hardly less tough than tiles. And one of the absolute worst wall finishes to remove. As I found out... Even tiles yield to SDS. :-)

Maybe a modern interpretation would work?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Mine has. And a 'vestibule'. Where the dog shakes himself after a wet walk. I did the bit below the dado with carpet tiles. Although the floor is hardwood. Works pretty well.

[Pete C]

For water based paint I'd look at a scrubbable matt like Dulux Real Life Kitchen Tough Matt.

Goes on a bit differently to normal matt, so start with a less noticeable area.

Also try asking on the talk forum on the Screwfix website.

cheers, Pete.

[K]

Hoping to build one of those sometime next year...

[K]

you have any idea about cost or stockists? (No info on the site about either.)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

If you have the room they are superb in increasing insulation against both heat loss and street noise

[Steve Walker]

hammerite smooth

[fred]

In article , K writes

Vinyl wallpaper, think of it as painting on a roll.

[nightjar]

I built a clean room, which had to be washed down with bleach and disinfectant on a regular basis, using skinned foamed PVC sheet to line walls and ceiling. The industrial grade vinyl floor has started to wear, but the walls are just as good as when they went up in 1990.

Colin Bignell

[K]

*pause to google*

I'd still have to paint it though, unless I wanted it in white, right? So that would bring me back to which paint to use...

[nightjar]

My plastics stockist had it available in a huge range of colours, although only white and beige were off the shelf.

Colin Bignell

[Steve Walker]

Teenagers, eh? The mucky little beggars.....

[meow2222]

Car spray paint is the stuff for this. Much tougher than household gloss. You can also get 2 part marine paints, but the prices are excessive. Beware of fumes with car paints, when using on large areas indoors this is a potentially dangerous problem you must address during application and drying.

NT