Enamel paint is often thought of as hard, glossy, and used in sparing quantities, much like fingernail polish. Modelers and hobbyists frequently use enamel paint to add vivid colors and durability to small crafts.
Around the home, enamel paint is frequently used for appliance finish touch-ups. If you’re in need of a paint that forms a hard shell and provides reliable protection, enamel paint just might be the finish that you need.
What Enamel Paint Is
Enamel paint is defined more by its qualities than by its content. In the broadest sense, enamel paint means any solvent-based paint that dries to a hard, vitreous-like (or, glass-like) shell. Solvent-based paints are also called oil-based paints, in contrast with water-based paints.
Enamel paint springboards off root words that refer to smelting or melting. True enamel is a glass coating that is melted or kiln-baked at extremely high temperatures onto metal or ceramics.
Yet enamel paint bears no similarities with the enamel of molten glass, as there is no glass content in this kind of paint. Even traditional baked enamel finishes, long used for vehicles, have nothing to do with glass. The baking is simply a fast route to eliminating solvents and VOCs.
In reality, air-dry enamel paints are far softer than true enamels formed in a kiln. Paint manufacturers have further widened the definition by sometimes attaching the word enamel to water-based paints, thus losing the one ingredient that usually ties together all enamel paints: solvents.
Enamel Paint’s Origin
As with many home-related products, enamel paint is as much a clever marketing move as it is a physical product.
At a time when paints were less than reliable and whitewash paints were friable and known to smudge off, attaching the word “enamel” to a paint imparted great meaning to users in the mid-1800s.
Enamel was associated in consumers’ minds with the vitreous shell surfaces of porcelain and ceramic tiles, or of porcelain bathroom fixtures. These are products that potential buyers knew well—or at least they knew of these products.
Enamel products were impermeable, sanitary, and very tough. Translating the idea of cookware, tile, sinks, and bathtub enamel to paint was a convenient shortcut to indicate that this paint was equally water-resistant and tough.
Fun Fact
Around 1900, Sherwin-Williams began advertising its version of enamel paint as the perfect coating for furniture and wickerwork.
Powder coating has largely replaced baked enamel coating for industrial applications. However, enamel paint’s main competition came when synthetic latex paints were introduced after World War II. Today, enamel paint still has some associations with hard-shelled items such as large appliances like refrigerators and washing machines, though these too are now powder-coated.
Pros
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Uniform finish
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Holds color well and resists yellowing
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Smooth application
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Extremely hard shell-like surface
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Sticks to a wide range of surfaces
Where to Use Enamel Paint
Brush on, roll on, or spray enamel paint for home projects that either require ultra-durability or a glassy, glossy look. See popular uses for enamel paint, below.
Refurbishing a Barbecue Grill
Thoroughly clean the outer surfaces of your barbecue grill. Remove the grill rack. Coat the barbecue grill twice with heat resistant enamel paint, using spray paint in a can.
Painting Door Casing
Door casing gets a lot of abuse. So it makes sense to apply a highly durable paint that is also easy to clean. Clean the door casing with trisodium phosphate (TSP). Mask the wall area around the casing by taping sheet plastic with painter’s tape or use self-sticking masking film. Cover the floor with a drop cloth. Apply a minimum of two coats of enamel paint with a high-quality brush to the door casing.
Revitalizing Your Outdoor Furniture
Even hardy resin outdoor furniture can fade after enough time. Colorful enamel paint in a spray can helps to bring that furniture back to life. Use a pressure washer set to low pressure, or use a water hose, soft brush, and mild detergent to clean the furniture. Let the furniture completely dry, then spray it with two coats of enamel paint.
Fixing Kitchen Appliances
Touch up chips and small scratches in refrigerators and stovetops with small bottles of appliance enamel paint.
Warning
Enamel paint often contains a high level of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which can cause mild to severe reactions in some people. Only use paints with high VOCs in well-ventilated areas. The use of a painter’s respirator is highly recommended when using enamel paint.
Other Uses for Enamel Paint
Enamel Paint’s Compatible Materials
One of the standout features of enamel paint is that it adheres to a wide range of materials, from slick to porous:
- Glass
- Aluminum
- Galvanized steel
- Stainless steel
- Caulking
- Wood
- Plastic
- Porcelain
- Ceramic
Source: The Spruce
