Best White Paint for Wood in the UK

If your woodwork is starting to look tired and faded, the best white paint for wood could be the solution you need to bring new life to it.

Whether you’re working on furniture, wooden trims or a fence, white is guaranteed to give you a timeless, elegant finish while also brightening up your space and making it look bigger.

But which white paint for wood is best? Well, that all depends on what you’re using it for. A nice white gloss is going to look much better if you’re using it on your skirting boards as opposed to on wooden furniture.

With this in mind, we’ve created a few different categories and have chosen the best white paint for each based on our own expertise and thousands of customer reviews. Keep reading to see which paint is best for your job.

Best White Paint for Wood Overall: Dulux Quick Dry

Dulux are going to be a common theme throughout this article but with good reason. When it comes to the best white paint for wood, they simply have the most extensive product range whilst also providing the best quality.

When taking into account all of their paint products for wood, our favourite has to be the Dulux Quick Dry Eggshell paint. It offers a perfect mix of high durability, low cost and ultimately a degree of versatility that’s unmatched.

It can be used on all interior wood including furniture, trims, windows and doors. In terms of the finish, expect a chic look that fits in seamlessly with any interior style.

Pros

• Is durable and can be cleaned
• One of the quickest drying paints on the market
• Low odour and low VOC making it more eco-friendly
• It doesn’t yellow over time

Cons

• Only suitable for interior woods

Best Exterior White Paint for Wood: Dulux Weather Shield

If you’re looking for an exterior white paint for wood, you need something that stands up to the British weather, is easy to clean and more importantly (for most) looks great.

For us, there’s no better combination of the above than Dulux Weather Shield. This quick drying satin paint provides an attractive mid-sheen finish whilst also guaranteeing 10 year weather protection.

The Pure Brilliant white colour is especially useful if you have any south facing resinous wood that needs painting. The reflective properties of this white paint ensures your surfaces are exposed to less UV and ultimately less deterioration.

Pros

• Weatherproof for a guaranteed 10 years
• Provides added protection to south facing resinous wood
• Water based satin that’s more environmentally friendly
• Quick drying
• Easy to paint with and gives good, even coverage

Cons

• It’s pretty expensive per litre

Best White Paint for Woodwork: Leyland Trade

If you’re looking for the best white paint for woodwork such as door frames and window frames, we’d suggest using the Leyland Trade Satinwood.

Satinwood isn’t as shiny as gloss but it still provides a level of toughness and durability suitable for woodwork throughout your home. You also get the benefit of a lovely consistency which makes application a breeze for inexperienced DIYers while allowing a brush mark free finish.

The 20m²/L is incredibly convenient and means you should be able to cover most projects with two coats of paint with some to spare.

Pros

• Easy to apply, even for first time painters
• Provides excellent toughness and durability
• Perfect for interior woodwork such as window and door frames
• Much cheaper than similar quality paints

Cons

• It’s a solvent based paint which means it’s got a strong odour that lingers and a high VOC content

Best White Paint for Wood Furniture: Rust-Oleum

Many of the paints on this list will work well as furniture paint but if you’re looking for the best overall white paint for wood furniture, you don’t need to look much further than Rust-Oleum.

Painting wood furniture white is a risk for some. The natural wooden grain on furniture is one of its defining aesthetic features so painting it a plain white can make certain pieces of furniture look a little bit tacky.

With that in mind, we’ve chosen something that is a little bit different to other matt finishes. This Rust-Oleum antique white paint results in your furniture having a chic finish and looks both elegant and stylish.

In our opinion, this is one of the best value for money paints on the market and is worth purchasing if you plan to renovate furniture such as chairs, chest of drawers or even kitchen cabinets.

Pros

• Great coverage with just a single coat
• Excellent value for money
• Water based paint with next to no odour
• Sets well on interior wood surfaces without the need for sanding or priming
• Comes in either 125ml or 750ml

Cons

• None

Best White Paint for Wood Trim: Dulux Once Gloss

Wooden trims and skirting boards are great for ensuring your walls remain protected from scuffs and dents caused by vacuum cleaners, pets or people. Many people choose a white paint for their wooden trims because it’s neutral and will match with any interior colour scheme you have. But what’s the best white paint for wood trims?

We’ve gone with Dulux Once Gloss not only for the Pure Brilliant White colour but because it’s much more durable than other brands and will do a better job at withstanding any stress applied to it.

When choosing a paint for high traffic areas, gloss is almost essential. Due to its high sheen and thickness it’s able to withstand anything from scratches to liquid spills. It’s also much easier to clean than other paints.

Pros

• Provides long lasting protection
• It’s easy to apply
• Strong coverage
• Comes with a precision paint brush for edging

Cons

• None

Best White Paint for Wood Fence: Cuprinol Garden Shades

Cuprinol are highly revered in the trade, especially when it comes to their weatherproof products. When it comes to the best white paint for a wooden fence, Garden Shades would be our choice.

Garden Shades is fairly unique as an exterior paint. It’s not often you’ll get a paint that provides a matt finish and is also highly durable at the same time but that’s exactly the case here. The white matt finish is perfect for enhancing the wood grains on your fence, giving it a great natural look while complimenting the natural colours found in gardens.

Whilst the aesthetics cut the mustard, you might be wondering how practical it is? We’ve found it’s easy to apply with a matt finish being achieved with two coats. While we would use a brush, larger jobs can be done using a paint sprayer. In terms of its durability, it’s been specially formulated to keep its quality for roughly 6 years.

Finally, it’s water based and low VOC making it safe for use around your plants.

Pros

• Enhances the look of natural wood
• Low VOC makes it safe for use around plants
• The white colour stays white
• 6 year weather protection
• Can be applied with a paint sprayer for added convenience

Cons

• Doesn’t have the best coverage

Summary

As you might realise having read this article, there’s never really a ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to paint. Different formulas have different characteristics but by matching the best white paint for different wood types, you can get the perfect finish you’re after for each specific job.

Of course, you don’t need to be majorly over-specific and often times you’ll find that a good eggshell paint has more than one use…just don’t use it on your garden fence!

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Want to learn more about different paints? Feel free to take a look at our recent “best water based gloss” article!