Painting toilet seat

[shabbychick]

I would like to buy a plain white toilet seat and paint it. Most of the toilet seats in the stores are so plain, and the cute ones online are terribly expensive. I know they make paint for just about every surface these days, so I'm thinking it would be fun to try my hand at a custom toilet seat. I want to paint all of it, not just the top of the lid, and then stencil a design (probably chickens, as I'm about to redecorate one of my bathrooms in a shabby chicken look). Have any of you ever tried painting a toilet seat? What kind of finish would I need to apply to make the seat stand up to cleaning and use? Thanks!

[Lynzee]

I used Patio Paints to paint "ceramic tile" on my bathroom showers at the beach house and after four years of showers and cleanings, it is still there, but I was working with cement walls. Toilet seats are such a smooth, shiny surface though, it may be difficult to find a paint that won't come off.

Another thing I just thought of--though I'm not sure I would recommend it--is that paint you can get to paint a bathtub. I used it as a basecoat when I painted my bathroom countertop. It made a very good base and the next coat of paint adhered beautifully. I don't recommend it for painting tubs or sinks because it STAINS very easily and is next to impossible to clean, but it might make a good undercoat for additional coats. It just needs to cure for five days, if I remember correctly, but it definitely adheres.

[ChapterTwo]

Kind of a cute idea, shabbychick!

I would think that regardless of what paint you use, you'd need to give it at least a few topcoats of clear polyurethane, to protect it.

[Evelyn]

I love the idea too!! I might try it if you find something that works! I have seen wood toilet seats. Those would definitely work if you stripped the finish off.

Evelyn

[Lisa S]

What a really clever idea. I like the "shabby chicken" look.

[Gigi]

Such a neat idea! I would finish the "final" coat with a paint suitable varnish for eazzzzzzy cleaning ;)

[rubyslippers]

We have a window in our shower - - the wood frame / casing of the window had to be replaced prior to our move. Anyway, our home inspector recommended getting "boat paint" - - it literally comes from a boat store. The stuff is incredibly water proof and durable. I believe you could get the base color that way. Then, I would think you could paint and stencil with whatever you want as long as you seal it well. I like the idea of stripping one of the wood seats; however, cleaning is a MUST. Keep us posted.

[Lisa S]

Or you could use regular paint and multi-task... and then cross bootie tattoo off of your to-do list!

[Hillary Black]

Ha! Thanks for that laugh, LisaS!! You are funny! :D

[Gigi]

Boat paint~ now why didn't I think of that! One of my sons painted his wood floors with boat paint~ it worked great-held up, etc...

[Lynzee]

Or you could use regular paint and multi-task... and then cross bootie tattoo off of your to-do list!

We really need one of these smileys...http://bestsmileys.com/lol/1.gif

[WannaBHomemaker]

I used it as a basecoat when I painted my bathroom countertop.

Speaking of painting countertops, I just found this wealth of info:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf999197.tip.html
Now i'm thinking that DH and I should look into re-painting our countertop and using the Enviro or something on top - the previous people just painted and did not put a top coat on, so of course it's stained, peeling, and scratched!

[shabbychick]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. I'm going to check out the boat paint and see what kinds of colors they have (and how expensive it is). I've got an old reject toilet seat in the garage that I can practice on. That'll be a late spring/early summer project when it's warm enough to leave the garage door open! One of my friends is married to a painter, so she's going to get me some estimates on the paint. We are thinking of also using it on the hideous, 70's orange bookcases and counters in the school library. I'd like to repaint them this summer. They're ugly with a capital UGH!

In the meantime, I've just cleared out enough space in my guest room that I think I can install a little window seat, which is something I've always wanted. I saw some instructions for beginning with stock cabinets from Home Depot, so I think that's what I'm going to do. It will double as storage underneath, which is fun. I want it to be wide enough for a nap in the sunshine but not so wide it takes up most of the room. Now I just have to figure out what to do with that baseboard radiator on the wall!

[Lisa S]

I've always wanted to try that window seat project too. Tell us how it turns out. BTW, if you have a salvage shop near your house, you might want to use an old cabinet instead of new.

Pictures, pictures!

[Gigi]

We have two windows seats in our carriage house--OMG it made the perfect height for one of our doggies to jump up to the window- and chew the moulding... :eek:

[Lynzee]

Building a window seat from stock cabinets was the very first project we tackled when we moved into this house! It took a large, totally unusable space and made it my favorite spot in the house! :D

[shabbychick]

I like the idea of hunting something up in a salvage shop, though I'm not sure if there are any in my area. Do you think something old would be sturdy enough to support one or two people sitting on it? I'm hoping that I can get something just wide enough that it could double as a small but serviceable guest bed if absolutely necessary. I'd better make a really good cushion for it!

[Lisa S]

Our salvage shops carry everything from really old to new stuff that someone got tired of. I bet most newer cabinets would be sturdy enough.

I can't wait to see you project. Make sure you take pictures.

Lynzee ~ I think I've seen your window seat, but would you share another picture?

[Lynzee]

Lisa...I couldn't figure out how to post a picture here, so I put it in my album.

I love, love, love the extra storage!

[shabbychick]

I have a question about creating a window seat with stock cabinets. All the instructions I look at have you build a base to set the cabinets on, then take the baseboard molding off the wall, remove anything like baseboard heaters, and connect the whole seat to the wall. I'm thinking I'd rather not remove my baseboard heater, and I'm wondering if it's possible to just get the stock cabinets, set them on the rug, build a seat to nail on top of the cabinets, and call it good. I suppose I'd have to bolt the two cabinets together somehow, but do I need to do much more than that? If I move, I don't know that anyone else is going to want a permanent window seat in that small room. Is my idea just terrible, or do you think it might work?

[Lynzee]

I think it will work! We did build a very simple base for ours--the upper cabinets we used were just too short otherwise--but, depending on the type seat you build, you might be able to make yours high enough without the base.

We didn't remove the baseboards and we didn't attach ours to the wall either. Doing it this way leaves a gap between the cabinets and the wall, but you can make up for that by building the actual seat larger so that it does go right up against the wall. The gaps on the sides can be hidden with trim pieces attached to the cabinets and not the wall.

[shabbychick]

Thanks for the advice, Lynzee. That sounds like a perfect option!