Your landlord is on the right track. Automotive acrylic lacquer is a good choice for solid colours. Good brands in Australia are Duplicolor, SCA, and Septone. On my tele I am using SCA primer-filler, duplicolor metallic blue (some Hyundai colour), with SCA clear gloss over the top.

One good thing about these paints is the huge variety of colours. There are so many variations of white that you should easily find what you like.