Painting cornice and any moulding is the final finishing touch and once completed. It completely transforms your room adding a new dimension to any interior.

Good news is that our Lightweight Coving made from a High-grade polymer and is much easier to paint than plaster coving as it is supplied pre-primed and it is impermeable which means that it doesn`t soak in the paint so requires fewer coats of paint and no need for any mist coating beforehand.

We recommend waiting 24 hours after installation before painting to make sure that the adhesive has set properly. Our coving has a smooth finish, make sure that the cornice is clean and free from dust and dirt before painting.

A question we often get asked is – “It is such a smooth surface, will paint stick to it?”

Yes, it definitely will. Our coving has a special primed finish which is designed to take paint so no need for sanding or keying before painting.

Below is a Step-by-step guide to painting coving:

1.Preparation:

Make sure to cover the area to protect furniture.

2. Fill any gaps:

To achieve the best finish it is important to make sure that there are no gaps in the joins or between the coving and the walls, this can simply be filled with our Fix Filler. 

3. Clean:

Make sure that the coving and mouldings are clean, free from dust and dirt. Wipe down with a cloth before painting.

4. Paint:

The Best part – use a 1 – 1 1/2 inch wide synthetic brush to apply thin layers of paint. Do the cutting in first which means that you do the edges of the coving where the coving meets the wall and ceiling and then work towards the middle of the coving, make sure you don`t overload the brush as this can cause drips to appear on the coving.

5. Drying:

Allow time for the paint to dry between coats, it is better to apply two thin coats of paint than one thick coat as this achieves a better quality finish.

Painting Coving FAQs:

Do I need to paint High-Grade Polymer coving?

Our cornice does have a very good white pre-primed finish on them and sometimes customers leave them unpainted, it is not essential to paint coving when used internally, its just the aesthetics and makes the finish more consistent and clean. Also painting coving helps prevent discolouring of the cornice overtime.

What is the best paint to use?

We would recommend a water-based emulsion paint, a good quality branded paint like Dulux, Coat, Lick, Little Greene have good coverage and deep colour meaning that less coats of paint are required compared to using cheaper unbranded paint.

For most interiors, matt emulsion is the most popular especially when you want to match in with the ceiling. You can also use soft sheen, silk, eggshell, satin and gloss on our products. Which you chose depends on how much shine you want, matt is the lowest shine with gloss being the highest shine.

What colour paint is best for coving?

Lighter neutral colours like light greys, white, cream colours are timeless and suit most interior styles. The most common option is to paint the coving the same colour as the walls and ceilings. To give it a timeless look as if it has always been there.

Bold colours are becoming popular in the UK with the Art Deco style coming into Fashion. Bold colours on the coving makes the ceilings feel taller and makes them stand out.

What is the best way to paint coving?

Usually, a good quality brush is best for painting coving because it is good at getting into the intricate areas on detailed decorative cornice like dentil cornices, apply thin layers of paint evenly over the coving. Don`t overload the paint brush as this will not have as good a finish and will have streaks and lines in the paint.

Spray finishing is very good if you want to adhesive a perfectly smooth finish, also a mini roller can be used to paint coving especially plain coving with no detail.

Can I use a primer on our mouldings?

Yes absolutely. Whilst all our mouldings are supplied pre-primed so priming isn`t required, you can still add a primer first if you feel more comfortable using a primer.