Can I use masonry paint indoors?
Masonry paint is a fantastic protective paint and has a lot of features that make it appealing to use indoors. But can you? And, even if you can, should you? Well, I did the testing and the research for you, so let’s jump in!
Will masonry paint work indoors?
Yes, masonry paint will stick to interiors walls and woodwork with no problem. To test this thoroughly I got a piece of scrap skirting board and painted one half with regular interior gloss and the other half with masonry paint. You can see the results in the image below.
You can see the gloss on the left and the masonry paint on the right of the image. As you can see there is not much difference in the level of finish, the gloss is a little shinier but the masonry paint is wonderfully smooth and velvety. So you can definitely use it to paint interior surfaces as I have just shown. So our attention now moves to whether you should use it indoors, are there any potential pitfalls you may not have thought about?
Dangerous VOC’s
Many masonry paints have high levels of VOC’s(volatile organic compounds) these are not good for the environment or for you, so using them in a confined space indoors is not a good idea. However more modern paints are using less and less VOC’s as paint manufacturers transition to more environmentally friendly paint mixtures.
In fact, a lot of masonry paints are now water-based, such as the SandTex range of masonry paints. Water-based paints contain fewer VOC’s and are much easier to clean off your brushes and equipment.
Should you?
The short answer is no. The problem with using masonry paint indoors is that they have built-in fungicides, these can give off a powerful odour in confined spaces. The long term health risks of breathing in these fungicides day after day have also not been tested. So really, why take the risk of using masonry paint indoors? It’s not particularly cheap paint and could cause health problems, and it’s not like you don’t have a ton of choice for all kinds of interior paints anyway!
Learn More About Masonry Paint
This article is part of our masonry paint section, learn more about masonry paint with the following articles:
