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Painting plastic white moulded accessories?

whjohnson
Applying paint to white moulded accessories? Sockets, switches and the like.

Been asked by an interior designer (cushion-thrower) if it would be safe to paint electrical accessories a different colour.

I said I didn't know and would guess that it depended upon the type of paint.

Oil-based enamel? Lacquer solvent-based? Water-based acrylics?

I mentioned that any solvent-based paints may damage the plastic and even undermine any flame-retardant ingredients within.


Comments welcome.
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    Get them to ask the manufacturer(s) of the accessories.

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    urea formaldehyde or melamine formaldehyde are the common 'white' moulding plastics for the hard fronts of sockets. other bits may be polyamide or poly ester. All are resistant to emulsion paints, and common oil or acrylic paints, though I'd not expect the paint to adhere very well. However, while it may be OK on a blanking box lid, I'd be wary about putting paint on anything with moving parts or an opening - I can see the possibility for the rockers of light switches getting horribly gunged up, and sockets with shutters refusing to slide freely, or having to leave a border round them  which will sort of defeat the point.

    That said, it is not that uncommmon to find odd sockets that have been painted over, and apart from the fact it looks horrible around the bits that get scratched away to put the plug in, it seems to give no real problems.
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    and what would be the dielectric strength of such paints?
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    I'd be telling them to behave, personally.


    If they want to free up some of their paint/flooring/coffee budget then they can always specify a socket finish they'd prefer to white plastic - MK do a fairly comprehensive range and I'm sure others do too.


    Whilst the plastic could most likely handle the paint on a chemical level, you're still applying a liquid to an electrical fixture. Live or dead this doesn't sit quite right with me.


    P
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    I suspect that ordinary white accessories are often painted - by those who are not very adept at cutting in, or don't realise that the screws should be loosened so that the plate may be lifted off the wall sufficiently to be able to do a neat job.
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    A mate of mine has pink sockets and switches in his kitchen fitted on the direction of his wife to match the colour of the big American fridge.


    you can get accessories in a wide range of colours but probably not Farrow and Ball to satisfy your interior designer.
  • Former Community Member
    0 Former Community Member
    https://www.hamilton-litestat.com/decorative-wiring-accessories/paintable/#.XbHQ0cqp6f0
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    dustydazzler:
    https://www.hamilton-litestat.com/decorative-wiring-accessories/paintable/#.XbHQ0cqp6f0




    Those fittings have a removable front plate that can be painted with an insert around the actual socket and switches that is intended to be left unpainted.


    Painting ordinary plastic fittings is almost certainly foolish and potentially dangerous, also a good paint finish that will stand the test of time and usage is almost certainly unachievable.


    The only fittings I have ever seen with a acceptable paint finish are the old fashioned industrial malleable iron fittings.


    Andy Betteridge 


     

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    John Peckham:

    A mate of mine has pink sockets and switches in his kitchen fitted on the direction of his wife to match the colour of the big American fridge.


    you can get accessories in a wide range of colours but probably not Farrow and Ball to satisfy your interior designer.




     

    https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Wiring_Accessories_Menu_Index/Rainbow_Accessories/Rainbow_Pink/index.html#Rainbow_Pink


    Andy B
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    I don't know which is worse - those or my daughter's little breadboards - i.e. wee wooden rectangles with sockets built in. ?

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