DIY Tips for Painting with Insulating Paint

Insulating paint is great for a variety of different uses around the house. It's similar to painting with any regular paint except there are a few differences that you should be prepared to deal with. Here are some tips for painting with insulating paint inside the home.

Mixing the Insulation Paint Indoors

When you mix insulating paint inside the home you should take necessary precautions to assure that you do not damage any surrounding items in the home. Begin by pouring the paint into a larger container so that there is plenty of room to stir the insulating additive into the paint.

Using a larger paint stirring stick, mix the additive into the paint so that the paint is thoroughly mixed. This will make the paint very thick and it will become more difficult to stir as you continue to add the insulating additive in. I usually add about a gallon of water to a five gallon mixture of paint and insulating additive. This makes the ceramic paint easier to mix and also easier to apply.

Tips for Painting with Insulating Paint

When you begin painting with the insulating paint it will usually go on a bit thicker than the average paint. If you added water while mixing, the consistency of the thermal or insulating paint mixture should be pretty close to that of paint alone. A roller can be used to apply the paint to the walls or the ceiling. I like to use a roller grid placed into a five gallon bucket of paint to get excess paint off of the roller. The roller grids are easier to clean up afterward and they do not tend to spill the way a roller pan can.

Using the roller, apply a coat of paint to the walls. You should try to apply an even coat but do not worry too much about the coverage as most insulating paint will not cover as well a paint alone. It will be necessary for more than one coat of thermal paint to get the desired coverage and insulation to the wall.

Allow all coats to dry fully in between applying additional coats. I find that insulated paint tends to dry a bit slower than regular paint so you should plan on waiting about 3-4 hours in between coats. Expect 1 room to need at least 12 hours dry time in between as you will likely need at least 3 coats of paint.

Clean Up of Insulated Paint Tools

When you have finished painting the house you will of course need to clean your tools up. Most insulated paint will clean easily with soap and water. There is no need to use paint thinner unless you have used an oil based paint with the ceramic additive. I usually place paint brushes in water immediately after using them so that they can soak until I am ready to finish cleaning up my mess. This makes cleaning the brushes a matter of simply rinsing them out for a minute or two under running water.