As part of my kitchen remodeling, we are putting in a small walk in
pantry approximately 4 feet by 6 feet in size. I would like to paint
this pantry a metallic aluminum finish.  The idea behind this is to
make the pantry look very industrial and kind of like a meat locker
(for lack of a better description). I am intending to hang wire elfa
shelves and metallic looking flooring. (In case your interested, the
flooring can be seen at
http://www.amtico.com/nsie_residential/site_search_products.asp?sw=techno%20
zinc%20presspla. and the wire shelves can be seen at
http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=62764&PRODID=65645&
FEEDCNT=3.)

The walls are made of drywall and do not have any drywall texture on
them.  They  have been primed with standard Sherwin Williams primer.

After looking at Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams products and then
searching your website, I believe the best choice for this application
would be Sheffield Bronze Golden Touch Metallic Coating, Aluminum
Tone.  This is a water-bourne paint that claims to be a low-VOC
product.  The other option I have found is Crescent Bronze Metallic
Alkyd Enamel, Metallic Late, or Metallic Epoxy Aluminum #325 or #425
or Extra Brilliant.

I’ve received product literature from Crescent Bronze and Sheffield
Bronze.  However, I have sent emails to both companies and cannot get
a response to my questions.

So, here are my questions:

(1) As this is a pantry, I want to be absolutely certain that these
paints will not release anything toxic.  Do you know if any of these
paints are toxic?  Would these paints be safe to use in a pantry?

(2) Also, I determined that some options I was looking at with
Benjamin Moore (Aluminum 164 78) and Sherwin Williams (Silver-Brite
Aluminum Paint) were “leafing paint”, which I understand means that
they release aluminum particles periodically, especially if anything
is brushed against them.  So, do the products from Sheffield and
Crescent “leaf”?

(3) What will it look like when finished? Do you think (and I realize
this is a subjective question) that it will look like I intend it to
look?

(4) Would you recommend coating these paints with a polyurethene
sealer or the Golden Touch Overcoat product from Sheffield Bronze? 
What advantage or disadvantage would there be in doing this?

(5)  Which of these products would  you recommend me using  for the
purpose I described? If not, what other product would you recommend?

Hi kkc123

Have you considered using real alumninum
sheeting? It's very attractive as you noted,
but with real aluminum sheet you will have
added durability and no toxicity thru fuming.
I'm not sure what your budget is, would you
care to add this as a clarification?

thanks
-AI

AI

I really hadn't considered aluminum sheeting.  Where can I get more
information on this, such as where I buy it, how much it costs, and
how I install it?  The pantry isn't that big; 6'X4', 8 foot ceilings
with a 2 foot door.  So, it might be a neat effect to use aluminum
sheeting.  But, one concern I have is if I would still be able to hand
shelves.  I suppose I could.  I don't see any reason why I couldn't.

Or there's always metallic wallpaper ...

http://www.wallliner.com/metallic.html
http://www.riverwindmetallics.com/introduction.html

With one caution: "Metallic wallpaper can conduct electricity. Don't
use it around switches and sockets."
http://www.colehardware.com/quikfrme/paint/wallpapr.htm

For more returns, do a search on google for: metallic wallpaper or
wallcoverings

No luck finding your paint info by the way. 

-K~

I looked at the wallpaper option.  But, I've never hung wallpaper
before and it looks somewhat costly.  If the paint works, I am going
to stick with that because it is easier.  Although the Aluminum
sheeting still sounds intrigueing.  I'm going to research that a bit.

For aluminum sheet, contact your local Iron and Metal store.  An
example price list is found at:
http://www.airpartsinc.com/alumsheet.htm

Click-on Metal offers a quote sheet that sells 3' by 8' sheets of
Aluminum at:
http://click-onsource.com/metals/aluminum.shtml

a 4' by 12' sheet of thin aluminum costs about $18 per foot.  

To find local dealers, try looking in the Yahoo! Yellow Pages under
Top > Manufacturing and Industrial Supplies > Metal Industries >
Primary Industries > Metals > Aluminum