Bauhaus Swingcolor Whiteboard Paint Review

RATING: ★★☆☆☆

A while back a friend in Germany recommended Bauhaus Swingcolor Whiteboard Paint for enhancing my workspace setup, so I thought I’d give it a go. After trying it out for a while now, I can’t say I’m too impressed. There are others in the market promoting similar products which I’ll be looking at next.

These types of products are designed to be just as good as traditional whiteboards, but painted on to any surface. Designed to maximise your space they give a more minimal look compared to normal whiteboards.

Read my other reviews here: Smarter Surfaces Whiteboard Paint Review, IdeaPaint Whiteboard Paint Review, Escreo Whiteboard Paint Review, MagPaint SketchPaint Whiteboard Paint Review, Remarkable Whiteboard Paint Review & WriteyPaint Whiteboard Paint Review.

Bauhaus Swingcolor Whiteboard Paint

Bauhaus Swingcolor Whiteboard Paint is a two-component emulsion paint which is mixed before applying to your wall. They are formulated to create a writable surface which can be repeatedly written on and cleaned without any effort. This paint comes in white. 

This 1L whiteboard paint comes in two separate containers – 800ml and 200ml. Bauhaus advises this will give you a coverage of 3 – 4 m². 

Once mixed it is easy to apply, I waited the 24 hours drying time between coats to be on the safe side (they advised 12 – 24 hours).

This product has a low level of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). High VOCs can give headaches and dizziness. With this product the smell was not too bad and I didn’t notice any effects.

Bauhaus’ Swingcolor whiteboard paint is an emulsion paint, however it does also contain epoxy (a detail pushed down to the bottom of the spec sheet!) This means it can cause skin irritation or allergic reaction, so wearing gloves and eye protection are required. Annoyingly a requirement to wear PPE is left out by Bauhaus on their website.

Performance

I tried applying the paint with both a roller and brush as a test first to see which would produce the best results. Both worked fine, but I think the roller produced the best finish. I applied it to a wall in my home work area. I had painted it recently enough (last year) in a cream white colour so I had a good base for the Swingcolor whiteboard paint.

I mixed the two parts and applied the first coat with the roller. I waited the 24 hours and applied the second coat with no issues. I covered about 3m² in total and had some paint left over ( about 10-15%.)

The second coat of whiteboard paint dried to the touch within 4  hours. Once the Swingcolor whiteboard paint had dried and was ready to use it produced a glossy finish which works fine with my home workspace.  

The main issue I have with this product is it doesn’t erase very well. I began writing after one week and was using it daily with low-odor markers. I found I had to use cleaning fluid to properly clean it and even that seemed to lightly stain the wall. You can see the results below after cleaning.

After a month of use now, I’ve also started to notice some discolouration and yellowing. It’s in a bright room which gets a lot of sunlight, so this may be an issue arising due to UV exposure.  I’m pretty unhappy with the results. I don’t really think this product lives up to expectations and practically it’s annoying as it just looks like a dirty wall now.

Pros

• It’s cheap
• Low odour
• Easy to apply
• Ready in 48 hours
• Odourless paint

Cons

• Just doesn’t work very well
• Already stained
• Discolouration
• PPE is required for application

I guess you get what you pay for. This is one of the cheaper products on the market and the results are probably fair for what you pay. Trialling the cheapest option as an introduction to these products was probably my own mistake. It was only €30 so I’m not even bothered following it up.