Garage paint is a must if you’re planning to use your garage for any sort of living function. Even if your garage is simply a storage room, it will look a lot nicer if it is painted well on the walls and ceiling.
Therefore, if you want to brighten up your garage, simply take a look at this guide for the best garage paints you can get today, alongside guidance on how to paint your garage walls and ceilings so you get it just right.
First of all though, let’s see why you need high quality paint for your garage.
Why You Should Invest in a High-Quality Paint for Your Garage
If you currently believe that all paint is made equal, I strongly recommend you read on before buying a paint to use on your house and garage. Like with anything else, you get what you pay for, and here are the differences between a paint that will help towards your dream garage, and one that will not.
• Better Resins: Resins, otherwise known as binders, are the plastic-like ingredients found in paint that bind together to encapsulate the pigments and create a film. Better resins will have smaller particles that will bind and penetrate surfaces better and therefore last longer.
• Additives: The better the paint, the more additives it will have and the higher quality they will be. Additives such as thickeners and surfactants will help to create smoother coats of paint (with fewer needed) and will help to stabilise the colour and viscosity of the paint. Other additives will also help your paint to withstand high and low temperatures, as well as prevent foaming.
• Better pigments: Higher quality paints will have higher quality pigments, such as having titanium dioxide rather than clay, silica, and talc. These better pigments will mean a better-looking colour with fewer coats needed, especially when painting over a previously painted surface.
• More Solids: Solids in this case just means the overall combination of pigments and resins, rather than the higher water content found in cheaper paints. A higher concentration of solids will mean a thicker paint film, better looking colour, and greater durability.
Bearing this all in mind, let’s take a look at some high-quality paints, now that you’ve seen why they’re worth investing in, let your inner paint-snob come out.
Best Garage Paints
1. Vintro Paint Blue Matt Emulsion Wall & Ceiling Paint. Coming in more colours than I care to count, this Matte paint will ensure a luxury finish for your Walls and ceiling, perfect for primed woodwork as well. This paint is also very eco-friendly, odourless, and just generally safe. High exceptionally high pigment levels, this paint will give you a great depth of colour and amazing coverage. Finally, this paint has very high durability, so the 2.5 litres will last you years.
2. INSL-X SU099809A-01 Sure Step Acrylic Anti-Slip Coating Paint. This unique black paint is perfect if you’re planning on using your garage as a workshop. With this paint, you can create a blackboard of any size or shape, and I mean any size as this paint will give you 80-120 square feet per gallon of paint used, meaning this tin will be more than enough for your garage. This paint also comes in other colours such as blue, grey, pink etc. if you don’t fancy the dark look. This paint will also touch dry within 30 minutes, with the blackboard being ready to use within just 24 hours. Finally, this paint contains minimal solvent making it safe and high quality.
3. HQC Anti Damp Paint for Walls and Floors – 10L. This eco-friendly, water based paint will work to insulate your walls and ceiling while also being a very high quality paint. The 10L tin will be a great investment for you garage, you should only need one to last you a few years. This paint may also may save you money in the long run, as it can reduce severe dampness or condensation problems while also working to prevent mould which could be toxic for your garage. Therefore, this paint acts as a 4/5 in 1 as well as being a great looking paint.
4. Wanders24 blackboard paint matt (3 litres, Parisian taupe). The ratings for this paint don’t lie, there are so many features going for it, I can’t even decide where to begin. Firstly, this odourless paint even comes with step by step instructions for maximum ease of use, it has a blackboard function so you can get creative with it. It has high coverage, has anti-drip, leaves a matte finish, and is washable. Finally, it works on almost any surface, such as concrete, wood, wallpaper, fabric, glass, and plastic.
5. 1 qt Rust-Oleum Brands 285143 Aged Gray Chalked Ultra Matte Paint. This paint is quite literally exactly what it says on the tin, this massive 10 litre tin will last you ages, and won’t disappoint you that whole time. This paint has a flawless review count, while being from the reputable Crown trade. This white paint is simple, and as good as it gets for your walls and ceiling, rest assured it will last you as well as it is 100% stain resistant and has been extensively tested to ensure the highest quality possible.
6. Rust-Oleum Mathys Murfill Renovation Paint 101 White 15KG | Long Lasting Elastic & Waterproof Exterior Wall Protection. This final paint is a bit of a wildcard as it doesn’t only give you great coverage and protection for your interior walls and ceiling, but it will give you the same for your exterior garage walls. This waterproof paint from the trusted Rust-Oleum will give you protection for a wide range of surfaces. It can withstand any temperature and will permanently prevent cracks and repair them in the process. In general, this paint could be slabbed on your walls and years later look as good as new, the strongest performing paint on this list was definitely saved until last (sorry to make you do all that reading).
Now you’ve hopefully chosen a paint that you like, or have learnt more about how they work, let’s just look at some guidance on how to best paint your garage walls and ceiling.
How to paint your garage walls and ceiling
If you’re new to painting, just take a look at these few simple steps/advice so you can have your colour garage up and running in no time.
Prepare your garage:
You don’t want to just start painting straight away, you’ll want to remove accessories from your wall and cover anything up that you don’t want paint on such as furniture. You’ll then want to lay down a drop cloth, this will protect your floor from splashes of paint. Finally, you’ll want to then wash your ceiling and wall and lay down painter’s tape to avoid getting paint where you don’t want it to be.
Paint your garage:
You may want to apply a primer to your interior surfaces, this is optional, if you use the high quality paint I’ve recommended in this article, you may not need it, but I would still recommend it if you’re painting a lighter colour as opposed to a darker colour.
After that is done, I’d recommend painting your walls and ceiling with a roller, use this for the bulk of the surface area you want to paint, then use a handheld paint brush to fill in the gaps, I recommend a great paintbrush in my garage door paint article.
Finish the Job:
Now all that’s left to do is apply additional coats and let it dry. For the paints I’ve recommended, you will only need one or two coats for a great looking finish, however, it’s up to you as to how you want it to look when you’re done. Then, you’ll want to wait for the paint to dry overnight, remove any of your painter’s tape, and put everything where it was, and you’re done!
Final Thoughts
The painting itself isn’t the tricky bit, in my opinion, the hardest part about painting your garage is just choosing the right colour! I hope you see the value in finding a good paint, you’ll find that it will be an investment in the long run.
That being said, I hope you learned something new and got inspired to paint your garage to your liking. Please share this if you found it useful, and check out my article on how to paint a garage door if you want to complete the job for your whole garage.
If you also fancy painting your garage floor with some great epoxy paint, then check out my article here.
