10 Paints Suitable for Caravan Interiors

Caravans can be extremely convenient for traveling. However, whether you spend an hour a day or twelve awake in your caravan, sometimes the interior walls just need a little refreshing. 

Typically, if you look up paint and caravans in the same search, you’ll find many results regarding painting the outside of your caravan. That’s because the outside of a caravan camper might be metal or fiberglass, which needs specific paint in order to last. However, you might wonder if you can paint the interior of your caravan instead, and if so, what paint can you use for that project?

You want to look for a durable paint that can stand up to the way you use your caravan. Generally speaking, the way to achieve optimal results is by using paint that’s intended for interior walls and for the type of material your caravan is made of.

Here’s a list of 10 paints that are suitable for caravan interiors: 

1. BEECK Mineral Paint
2. BioShield Clay Paint
3. Clare Wall Paint
4. Sherwin-Williams Cashmere Interior Acrylic Latex
5. Johnstones Covaplus Vinyl Matt
6. Keim – Optil Interior Silicate Paint
7. Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt
8. Johnstone’s No Ordinary Paint
9. Leyland Trade Vinyl Matt
10. CROWN Emulsion

It’s important to do a bit of research before you go out paint shopping. Not just to decide the color and finish you want your caravan’s walls to have, but also so you can ensure the best possible paint job as a result.

In this article, I’ll share all you need to know about painting the inside of your caravan. We’ll take a closer look at the10 above named paints that are suitable for caravans and why they’ve earned their places on this list. However, even if you can’t find any of these paint types, as long as you look for emulsion paints that aren’t strongly scented, you’ll likely be happy with your final product. 

Can I Paint the Interior of My Caravan?

Usually, caravan walls are made of a much different material than the walls you’d find in a building. However, even though caravans are constructed differently than houses, you can still renovate them. That means you can do minor construction, change the installed furnishings and cupboards, and, yes, even wallpaper or paint the walls.

You can paint the interior of your caravan, as this is one of the easiest ways to refresh the space. However, if you currently have tile, wallpaper, or other types of paneling, you may need to remove or prep these coverings to prepare the surface for painting.  

For example, if your caravan has walls that are covered with vinyl tiles, to ensure your paint job lasts, you’ll likely want to remove these tiles first. 

That’s also the case if your caravan has wallpaper on its interior walls. You’ll want to make sure your caravan walls are bare of any other types of wall coverings other than paint. That’s because most interior paints are meant for specific surfaces, and painting over tile, wallpaper, or other types of paneling, might cause your color to streak or chip faster.

Can I Use Any Paint in a Caravan Interior?

If you’ve wanted to paint your caravan interior for a while, it’s easy to get overly excited and run out to buy the first can of paint you can find. 

You can use almost any paint in a caravan interior, in theory, yet it’s not recommended. Ideally, you should use a paint designed for the type of interior your caravan has. You may need a paint that’s designed for wood, ceramic, or other materials. Overall, it’s best to choose a durable paint. 

For instance, you’ll want to choose durable paint. Whether your caravan is static or you use it for travel, its walls will likely undergo more stress than the walls of a house due to the small size of the space. That’s because you’re more likely to bump into the walls or touch more of the wall’s space than you do in other structures.

This is the same process you would have to go through if you were painting anything else. 

For example, if painting a metal shed, you’d need paint specifically designed for exterior metal surfaces. That means a paint created for interior ceramic surfaces wouldn’t be appropriate because it wouldn’t last or go on the way it should, leaving you with a less than ideal paint job. 

Why Can’t I Use Any Paint for My Caravan Interior?

You may have suspected that you would need to use a certain sort of paint for your caravan’s interior, but you might not know why it’s so important to do so. And as it turns out, using the wrong sort of paint won’t just result in a potentially ugly finished project. 

You can’t use any paint for your caravan interior because the wrong sort of paint can cause multiple undesirable things to happen. The biggest and most dangerous thing that might happen if you use the wrong sort of paint for your caravan’s interiors is paint inhalation.

Caravans are typically very small spaces with limited openings to the outside. That means that ventilating them properly can be difficult. So, if you choose paint that smells strongly, you’ll be more likely to inhale paint fumes, as it’ll take longer for the smell to disappear due to poor airflow circulating within your caravan.

It’s important to choose a durable paint that’s suitable for travel as well as your cleaning habits. For instance, if you’re one to be washing the interior walls of your caravan quite often, you’ll find that water-based paints dissolve faster. 

10 Paints Suitable for Caravan Interiors

1. BEECK Mineral Paint: Mineral paints are highly recommended for all interiors, not just caravans. That’s because they’re not just waterproof, but they’re also breathable and environmentally friendly. Minimizing the number of harsh chemicals you introduce to such a small space can be extremely important when painting caravan interiors. 
2. BioShield Clay Paint: BioShield makes a clay paint that is highly recommended for interiors, including caravan interiors. Clay paint is a type of mineral paint, so it’s more environmentally friendly and it’s low in odor, so the lack of ventilation in caravans won’t be a problem. 
3. Clare Wall Paint: Possibly the greenest paint on this list, yet it’s not the most budget-friendly option. However, since you won’t need much to paint most caravan interiors, you might find the extra cost to be worth it.
4. Sherwin-Williams Cashmere Interior Acrylic Latex: From a leading brand in the paint world, so you don’t have to worry about making a wrong choice by choosing them for your caravan’s interiors. Acrylic latex paints are particularly easy to apply because they glide on easily and dry evenly, making them fool-proof. 
5. Johnstone’s Covaplus Vinyl Matt: A vinyl paint claimed to be suitable for all interior walls, this paint is water-based, which means you’ll have to be careful if you clean surfaces painted with it, but it’s opaque and breathable and should only need one or two coats. 
6. Keim’s silicate paint This paint is mineral-based and waterproof, so you don’t have to worry about being careful how you clean your walls if they get dirty. It’s also breathable and not strongly scented, so painting a poorly ventilated space isn’t a problem.
7. Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt: This is definitely an expensive option, but it might be worth it for your caravan’s walls. It’s got a bit of a sheen without being glossy, which allows you a little more versatility than typical matt paints without the smell of glosses. It’s also a very opaque paint, so one can of it might be more than enough to take care of your entire caravan.
8. Johnstone’s No Ordinary Paint: One of numerous types of paints from the brand that are great options for caravan interiors. However, this particular option is water-based and easily one of the most breathable paints they offer. That makes it a perfect choice for a small, enclosed area. 
9. Leyland Trade Vinyl Matt: This paint is environmentally friendly and has relatively few toxins, making it safe to use in general, particularly in a small area that won’t get much airflow. Being a matt paint also means it’s opaque and likely to last longer than glossier alternatives.
10. CROWN Emulsion: Emulsion paint is durable in general, and CROWN Emulsion goes on easily and typically dries matt, which is perfect for interior walls that go through the sort of wear that caravans do. CROWN Emulsion paint is one of the paints on this list that can claim that it’s been tested in caravan interiors. You can see it being used for this sort of project in the following video: