What Kind of Paint Can You Use On the Inside of a Microwave?

When the paint starts peeling inside the microwave, you are left with two choices: either buy a new one or repaint the microwave interior using appliance paint made for microwaves.

The kind of paint you can use on the inside of a microwave should be appliance or microwave-safe, must be lead-free, and able to resist high heat. Fortunately, some paints satisfy the above requirement and are suitable to use inside the microwave. The paints come in both forms, i.e., spray and brush paint.

So let’s look at how to choose a paint and repaint the inside of a microwave using suitable paint, specifically made for the microwave.

Table of Contents

How to Choose the best paint to use inside the microwave

If you are wondering what paint is used inside a microwave oven. As I said earlier, there are 2 types of paint that you can use to paint the inside of your microwave.

It is upon your preference which one you would want to use. The first paint comes in spray form, which I recommend using as it is more convenient and saves a lot of time.

While if you wish, you could pick the other kind of paint, the brush paint. It is recommended to paint small areas or want a detailed manual painting to exact areas on the microwave cavity wall.

What causes peeling paint and deterioration inside the microwave?

It is essential to know the reason behind peeling paint and deterioration inside the microwave so you can avoid it in the future after you’ve repainted your microwave interior.

The leading cause of peeling paint in microwaves is due to something called “the hot spots”. Hot Spots form on the cavity wall area when food splatters and other food spills get collected while cooking food.

These splatters get hardened over time and with high heat if not cleaned immediately.

The best way to avoid the formulation of hot spots is to clean splatters immediately after preparing your food. Manufacturers recommend using a damp cloth or paper towel and wipe them off immediately.

After using a microwave, try cleaning every nook and cranny with a damp cloth to eliminate any food residue inside it.

Also Read: Why microwaves get hot on the outside and top

How to paint the interior walls or inside of a microwave

If you have decided to go with painting the inside of a microwave rather than buying a new microwave, I would like to warn you at the beginning that this could be an overwhelming task if you are not sure what you are doing.

But don’t worry, I’ve got your back; you could follow these steps to paint the inside of a microwave:

Step 1: Unplug the Microwave

Unplug the microwave and remove any peeling paint and rust that you can see inside the microwave. This first step is crucial as if you paint over the peeling paint and rust, the newly applied paint will eventually rust and peel again soon.

So make sure to thoroughly clean the peeling paint by scraping off the loose paint and rust. You can use sandpaper to get the work done.

Step 2: Remove Debris and Flakes

Clean the inside of the microwaves with a damp cloth and dish soap. There should be no grease, flakes, or debris present when you paint the cavity wall, so it is vital to clean the interior to be sure it’s completely smooth and clean.

When you are sure everything is cleaned correctly and there are no residues inside, you can move to the next step.

Step 3: Clean the Interior and remove Moisture

Now, take a dry piece of cloth and remove as much moisture as possible from the inside. When you are sure that the interior is arid, you can proceed to the further steps.

Step 4: Test the Paint on Small Area first

Now, when you have the microwave interior that is nice, clean, and dry, you can begin to paint the cavity wall surface. It’s always better to first test the paint on a small area rather than just going reckless.

So first, if you are using spray paint, spray it on a portion of the microwave interior. Let it sit for 10-15 hours or till the paint dries.

Similarly, if you are using a brush to paint the inside of the microwave, apply it to a small area and wait until it gets completely dry.

Step 5: Paint inside the Microwave

When you are done with all the above steps, now it’s time to test the paint. For doing so, place a cup of water inside the microwave and let it run on high heat for a few minutes.

Now check the temperature of the painted area by touching; it should not be any warmer than the rest of the interior that is not painted.

If everything goes well and the temperature of the painted area is also lower than the rest, you can proceed to paint the whole interior or where the paint is peeling.

Conclusion

In this blog post, I’ve tried to cover all about painting the interior of a microwave and What Kind of Paint Can You Use On the Inside of a Microwave. By following the steps for painting the microwave cavity wall using microwave-safe paint, you could get rid of peeling paint and avoid making a new purchase.

However, if you think it’s too much work to paint the interior, you could always get a new one as nowadays, microwaves are available cheaply with good quality and durability.