IknowthisasIlearnedtherightwaytospraypaintallsortsofitemsafterworkingforyearsinretaildisplaywherewehadtopaintthestorepropstoreusesothecolorwouldfitwithabrandpromotionaswellastheseasonsoftheyear.Iwasnicknamedthe“SprayPaintingQueen”andknowallthein’sandout’swhenusingspraypaint.
Spraypaintcanbetrickytoapplyifyoudon’tfollowafewbasicapplicationtips.Inthispostyouwilllearntherightwaytospraypaintandhowtogetallyourspraypaintproblemssolvedsothatyouhavesuccesswhenyouwanttochangethecolorofanitem.
Thetwogreatthingsaboutusingspraypainttogiveafreshcoatofpainttojustaboutanythingisthatthefinishwillbesmoothandevenwithnotabrushstrokeinsight.
Spraypaintisnotlatexpaintsoitcannotbecleanedupwithsoapandwaterlikelatex.
InthispostIamalsogoingtoanswerallyourspraypaintingquestions.Ifyouhaveaspraypaintingproblemanditisnotaddressedhere,pleaseleaveacommentandwilltrytohelpyoufigureoutwhatwentwrong.
Thenumberofcoatsneededtogetfullcoveragewhenspraypaintinganyitemisatleast2lightcoats,perhapseven3appliedatdifferentanglestomakesureyouaregettingeverythingcovered.Morelightcoatsarebetterthanoneheavyone,butbesuretogetallthecoatsonwithinanhour.
Thelengthoftimetoletprimerdrybeforespraypaintinganitemcanvarywitheachbrandofspraypaint.Theidealtimeiswhentheprimeriscompletelydry.Ifyouusedtherecommendedthincoatitshoulddrywithinanhour,butreadthespraypaintcanlabeltomakesure.Dryingtimewilltakelongerinhotandhumidconditions.
Re-coatusinglightcoatswithinanhourasmentionedabove.Ifthetempsareoptimalbetween65-85degreesyoucanre-coataboutevery5minutesaslongasyouareapplyinglightevencoats.Iftheitemistwosided,letthefirstsidedrytothetouch,thenflipandpaint.Itshoulddrytotouchin30minutes,tohandle–1-2hours,andbefullydryin24hours.
Whenusingspraypainttopaintanitem,dryingtimecanrangefrom30minutestoafewhours.Thisrangeintimedependsontheweatherandhowthickyouapplythepaint.Forfasterdryingtimes,sprayonanicedaywithlowhumidityintheair.Alsouseonlylightcoatsastheydryfasterandwillalsohelpthepaintcurefasterafteryouarefinishedspraying.Allpainttakestimetofullycure–upto30days.Whatcuringmeansisthatthatpaintandundersideofthepainttakestimetobecomecompletelyhardanddurable.Soevenifyourspraypaintedfinishfeelsdrytothetouch,itmaynotbedryontheunderside–sobegentlewiththeitemforafewdays.
Ifyousprayedanitemandwonderedwhyismyspraypaintcrackingorwrinklingthereareafewdifferentfactorsthatcancausethefinishtowrinkleorcrackwhenapplyinganothercoatofpaint.Hereishowtofixwrinkledspraypaintthatcanhappenaftersprayinganitemwithspraypaint.Themostcommonreasonadriedspraypaintedcoatcancrackorwrinkle–isapplyingthepainttoothickly–whichmakesthesurfaceofthepaintdrytoofastandnottheunderside.Whenyoure-coat,thesolventsinthepaintshrinkandthiscausesthewrinkling.Howtofixspraypaintcrackleandthewaytoavoidit–sprayonlywhenthetemperatureis65–85degrees,applyonlylightevencoats,andre-coateveryfewminutes.Alsoreadthebackofthecan.Somebrandssayyoushouldgetallre-coatingdoneinunder30–60minutes.Afterthat,donotre-coatatleastfor24–48hoursorthepaintmaywrinkle.Again…readthelabelforspecifics.Anotherreasonitmayhappenisifthereiswaxorresidueontheitemthatisincompatiblewiththepaint.Sand,cleanwellanddryyourpiecebeforepainting.Useaprimerandmakesurethespraypaintyouareusingismadeforthatspecificsurface.Readthelabel.
Powderresidueafterspraypaintinghappenswhenyoupaintoutdoorswhenitishotorinthesun.Thepaintspraydriesbeforereachingthesurfaceanditcannotlevelbecauseoftoorapidevaporation.Itcanalsobecausedifyouholdthecantoofaraway.Itisbettertosprayinthemorningoreveningduringthesummerandkeepthecanabout8-16”awayfromtheitemasyouspray.Ifitisachandelierorlargepiecethathastobesprayedinsections,blockoffothersectionswhileyousprayonesectionatatimewithapieceofcardboard.
Whenspraypainting,aftershakingthecanforaminuteandthenshakingitagainforanotherminute–holdcanupright8”–16”fromsurface.Presstriggerornozzleandbegincoveringthesurfacelightlyinasteadybackandforthmotion,slightlyoverlappingeachstrokeandshakingthecanafewtimesasyoupaint.Thiswillgiveyouaniceevenfinish.Yougetblotchesofpaintwhenyouholdthesprayinoneareafortoolong.Ifyougetblotchesandwanttosandittostartover.Waitforthepainttocompletelydry.Ifyousandtoosoonyouwillcreateagummymessthatwillbehardtoremove.Ifthishappens,usepaintremovertoremovethepaint,cleanwellandstartover.
Aftertheitemyouspraypaintediscompletelydry,dependingonthesheenofpaintused,youcanapplyaclearcoatoverspraypaint.Ifyouusehighgloss,semi-glossandyouwantashinyfinish,youreallydon’thavetosealit.Ifusingalowersheenyoucansealwithawater-basedsealerlikeMinwaxPolycrylic.Itcomesinasprayversion.Mostbrand’smentiononthecan’slabelabouthowtosealandevensellsealerstogowithcertainformulasoftheirpaints.
Yes–youcanpaintoverspraypaintaslongasitiscompletelydry,notjusttothetouchbutreallydriedandcured.Youneedtosandthefinishlightlywith100gritsandpapertoprovidesomethingforthenewpainttograbonto.Ifyousandtoosoonafterspraypaintingyouwillcreateagummymess.Aftersanding,cleanthesurfacewellwithadampragandletdry.Thenyoucanpaintoverthespraypaintedsurfacewithanykindofpaint.
Whenpaintingplasticoranyplasticsurfaceincludingoutdoorplasticfurnitureincludingresin.Itisbesttouseaspraypaintformulathathasbeenmadejustforplastic.Therearetwobrandsthatmakeplasticspraypaintlabeledspecificallyforplastics.OneisKrylonFusionforPlasticorRust-OleumSpecialtyPlasticPrimerspraypaint.Thereasontouseoneofthesespraypaintformulaswhenpaintingoveraplasticitemisthattheywillbondtotheverysmoothandpliablesurfaceandwillnotpeeloff.
Onewaytoreducespraypaintodorisbyminimizingitscuringtime.Paintthefurnitureoutdoorsonadry,moisture-freeday,ifpossible.Ifyoualreadypaintedthefurniture,setitoutdoorsonanon-humidday.Sunnyweatherhelpsevenmore.Placeitoutsideinthesun,bringinatnightsoitwon’tgetmoistureonit.Dothisforseveraldaysuntilthesmellisgoneandthepaintcured.Theairmovementhelpscurethepaintandwillcutdownontheodor.Ifunabletokeepthefurnitureoutdoors,storeitinagarageforafewdays,orinawell-ventilatedspareroomofthehome.
Createano-costcollapsiblesprayboothtostoreinyourgarage.(Seephotoattheendofthepost).Thisnotonlykeepstheoversprayfromgoingeverywhere,butitisalsoaplacetospraypaintwhenitistoocoldtogooutside.Justbesuretoopenthedoorswhileyousprayandthenclosethemwhenyouaredone.Alsoremoveyourcarsfromthegarage.Trustme…oversprayhappens.Youcanfindlargeboxesinthedumpstersbehindretailstores.
Tomakesureyouaregettingallthenooksandcrannieswhenpaintingwicker–usespraypaintandsprayitonwhenthethepieceisinalldirections–upsidedown,rightsideup,andsideways.Thiswillensureyougetcompletecoverage.
Smallobjectsonlyneedasmallbox.
Ialsoliketouseaboxtoptoplaceitemsin.YoucanfindtheseintheboxstacksbythecheckoutlinesatCostcoorwhenyoubuycansofdogfoodinbulk.
Thisallowsyoutocarrytheiteminsidetodrywherethetempsarebetter.Thenyoucancollapsethesprayboothrightafterusingandpullthecarbackintothegarage.
Noneedtohavetowaitforittodrybeforemovingit.
ToStoreYourInstantSprayBooth:Simplyopenthebottomtomaketheboxflatandstoreitverticallyagainstawallandoutofthewayuntilyouneeditagain.
Whenyouneedit–justfoldupthebottomoftheboxbytuckingeveryotherflapundereachothersotheboxbecomesanopenedtopboxagain.