WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR AUTOMATIC TOILET WONT FLUSH: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE

Can A Toilet Seat be Painted?

Yes. You can paint a toilet seat in whichever color or style you desire. All that’s needed is proper prep work on the surface, whether plastic or wooden, and finding the right paint for your toilet seat material.

Why Should You Paint Your Toilet Seat?

With time, your toilet seat starts to look old and worn out. A little paint can go a long way. Instead of replacing it, you can liven it up with a fresh coat of paint.

This is an easy and inexpensive way to refresh your bathroom.

We’ve come up with a simple step-by-step approach that will take you less than two hours to revamp our old toilet seat(s).

Before we get to the steps, we’ll take you through the things you need to consider before you pull out your paintbrush and get down to painting.

What You Should Know About Toilet Seat Materials Before You Start Painting

Toilet manufacturers are now producing toilets in almost every style and color conceivable. In addition to its typical practical function, your toilet also plays an aesthetic role in your bathroom.

Think about it, how gross does a nasty-looking toilet make the entire bathroom look?

Before buying the paint and getting to work on your toilet seat, you should consider its material.

Toilets seats come in a range of materials including wood, plastic, and resin.

Many solid wood toilet seats are made from pine, mahogany, and oak.

Conversely, medium-density fiberboard (MDF) seats are made from compacted wood fibers.

Veneer is yet another popular alternative to solid wood in toilet seat manufacturing. Veneer toilet seats are made from wood waste with a thin veneer cast on the surface to give an impression of solid wood.

While wooden toilet seats look great, their durability is worth considering before purchasing.

The greatest drawback to wooden toilet seats is their proneness to rotting compared to seats made from synthetic materials. However, wooden toilet seats are the easiest to repaint and reapply varnish.

Plastic is a popular material in the toilet industry. Most manufacturers use polypropylene material.

Duroplast material, a thermoset plastic fortified with fibers is also quite popular among toilet seat manufacturers.

Polypropylene and duroplast are some of the most common toilet seat materials in American bathrooms.

To paint a plastic toilet seat, you’ll need to do more slap paint onto its surface since it’s nonporous and glossy.

A spray paint specified for use on plastics such as polypropylene and duroplast is the best bet for painting a plastic toilet seat.

The traditional paint will sit on the glossy, nonporous surface of the polypropylene toilet and might start to crack and peel off once dry.

Toilet seats made from resin or polyresin material cannot be painted. This is because painting will distort its aesthetics.

Additionally, the resin material is averse to harsh chemicals such as those used in manufacturing paint.

The Prep Work to Painting Your Toilet Seat

Before you can get down to painting your toilet seat, you should the surface to be painted, the area, and yourself.

Things You’ll Need:

1. Personal protective gear, specifically gloves, goggles, and ventilator mask.
2. Sandpaper with a 120-180 grit
3. Tarp, or old newspapers
4. Rags
5. Painter’s tape
6. Primer
7. Epoxy paint of your desired color

What to do Before Painting Your Toilet Seat:

1. 1. Pick the right color for your toilet seat. You don’t have to stick to the original color, but you need to pick a color that goes well with your toilet bowl. After all, nobody wants a tacky-looking throne!

1. 1. Get protective gear. Wear a pair of gloves to protect your hands, safety goggles to protect your eyes, and a respirator mask to prevent contaminants from entering your body as you breathe while working.We found that full-face respirator mask works excellently by providing an airtight seal on your entire face. I highly recommend this mask as it seals your entire face even if you have a full beard. Click here to check it out.Chemical-resistant nitrile gloves offer the best protection when handling paint. They are a great barrier to paint, as well as the various organic solvents used in paint manufacture. Check out these nitrile gloves with an extended cuff for enhanced protection.

1. 1. Remove the toilet seat. Use your fingers or a screwdriver to open the plastic bolt caps at the back of the toilet seat (if present) to reveal the hinges.Using your hand or a pair of pliers, tightly grip the nut fastened at the end of the bolts. Then, use an appropriate tool such as a screwdriver to unfasten the bolts while still gripping the nut.Lastly, remove the toilet seat and lid from the toilet. Make sure to collect all hardware such as bolts, nuts, and bolt covers and place them in a plastic bag because you’ll need them later!

1. 1. Thoroughly clean the toilet seat and lid, rinse and dry it.

1. 1. Cover parts of the toilet seat and lid that you don’t want to paint, such as hinges. Use painter’s tape rather than masking tape as it doesn’t bleed into the surface thus providing a clean paint line.If you opt not to paint your toilet seat lid, be sure to cover it with old newspapers as well.

1. 1. Lightly sand the areas to be painted. A fine grit sander in the 120 to 180 range works perfectly for toilet seats as it leaves a smooth finish.Note: A high number means lower coarseness, a finer grit, and a smoother finish.

1. 1. Clean off all dust using a damp rag. Leave to dry completely.

1. 1. Cover your work area with a tarp or old newspapers. This will prevent paint from dripping everywhere.

Ideally, you should take your painting work outside where there’s plenty of free-flowing air.

Paint vapors are a major concern when painting indoors, especially since they can move through walls and windows.

However, if you have to paint indoors, remember to ventilate! ventilate! ventilate!

Opening your windows before you start painting could save you a trip to the ER.

You and your toilet seat should now ready for the fun part: painting.

How to Paint Your Toilet Seat

1. 1. Apply primer. From experience, we’ve found that Rust-Oleum Primer and Rust-Oleum Paint work amazingly on toilet seats. Spray a light coating of primer as per the instructions on the spray can.
      

      

1. 1. Paint the toilet seat. Again, follow the instructions on the spray can to spray light coatings on the toilet seat and allow it to dry.You can spray several coats, just let it dry between coats.Note: You don’t want to spray too close to the toilet seat. Spraying 7-10 inches away should suffice.

      Also, you don’t want to overspray your seat, otherwise, it will look cakey, which is not what we’re aiming for.

1. 1. Allow the seat to dry completely and reinstall. Once you’ve reinstalled the seat onto the toilet, your newly refurbished throne should be open for business.