Painting plastic medicine cabinet doors

Question

I have moved into this older home. In guest bathroom it has this metal medicine cabinet. I have dolphin things as decor. Shower curtain, pictures on wall, and seashells we collected in our travels. 
 My question is what kind of paint can I use to cover the plastic doors to make them look like underwater so I can add dolphin decals to hide what is inside. I don't like that you can see through the plastic. I want it to be clear like as if it is underwater. I am not sure if this can be done with paint or not. Sure hope so. I think it would look good if it looked like underwater. One day we will be replacing this medicine cabinet if I cannot find a way to hide the doors like I want to. I don't really like this cabinet.

Polly Zieper · Answer

I think painting them , to hide the inside of the cabinets and to add to the underwater theme, is a cute idea. Are you keeping the mirror the same?

Larmstrong · Answer

I would paint an ocean with the wave curl where you have the highest items., Also paint the back in one of the colors you use for the doors, or as a sunset

Mollee Kauzlarich · Answer

If the doors are plastic, remove them and spray with the paint you can use on plastic furniture. It comes in lots of colors. You could then add hand painted details. Good luck.

Katrina Warren · Answer

@Paul It might be more expense than you want to do (depending on your design & how many colors you would use) but I would paint them with Gallery Glass, to give them a faux stained glass look. The water effect you want could be easily achieved with it, plus you could also do your fish or seashells or whatever you wanted with it too. I put in plastic & used the gallery glass on the doors above the stove when we installed the over the stove microwave & had to make the original cabinet doors smaller....... They are opaque & can't been seen through unless lighted from behind. Gallery Glass can be bought at craft stores like Micheals, or Hobby Lobby. I also helped a friend do a wall of windows using the gallery glass in a Margaritaville theme with fish etc... but I currently can't get to any of those pics.

Swan Road Designs · Answer

If you choose to paint them, I would suggest painting them on the backside. If they are painted on the front, there's always the possibility of getting scratched by folks who use the doors or during cleaning.

Paul · Answer

My question was what kind of paint would be transparent to look like water on doors?

Kim Kilmer · Answer

I would suggest mixing small amounts of the ocean paint colors with mod podge and painting on the backside of the doors. It would be quite durable and if you are careful and don't mix the colors too dark, you will get the effect you're looking for. Google some of the tutorials on reverse painting on glass. There are tons out there!

Paul · Answer

Thanks for all the replies, Will try and see what happens.

Karen Howard · Answer

I recommend asking a professional at your local paint store. They will be better able to advise you. Good Luck!

Cj · Answer

try painting with glass paint.

Paul · Answer

Asked about using glass paint and was told to use craft paints. Now I am stumped. I want it to look like a fish tank. I think I seen somewhere someone mixed food coloring to Elmers glue. I might see what happens, I can easily remove it if it does look good,

Painting plastic medicine cabinet doors

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Painting plastic medicine cabinet doors

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