thrifty thursday - thoughts on spray paint

You might have noticed from many of my posts that I like spray paint. It makes changing your decor so easy and simple. It makes turning something that is drab and boring into something brand spankin' new! What could be better?!

So I thought I'd give a few 'thoughts' on spray paint. Ya know, from my vast experience! heh

I've tried a few different brands...Walmart brand, Krylon, Valspar & Rust-oleum. And here's what I've found - you get what you pay for. Sure, the Walmart brand is cheaper. And I have found that it's cheaper for a reason. It doesn't cover as well and you don't have nearly as many choices in colors & finishes as you do with the others. The Krylon costs about $2.67 a can at Walmart (Lowes or Home Depot has it, too), the Valspar a bit more over at Lowes. There's also Rust-oleum which is a bit more at $3.44 over at Home Depot. Both cover great, usually 1 or 2 coats and you're good to go. Plus, the better brands have a better nossle that doesn't leave your hand feeling like you want to chop it off cause it hurts so bad. Trust me, if you're painting something big you want a good spray nossle!

 

My favorite is the Rust-oleum. In my own personal opinion I think it covers the best. But like I said, the others are good, too.

Test the sprayer before spraying it on your project. Recently I had a can of Krylon primer that didn't spray. It sputtered for about 2 secs and then...nothing. Problem was I sprayed it on my lamp redo and it left a bunch of lumps that I then had to sand off after it dried. There's nothing worse than turning an easy redo into a pain-in-the-butt project because of faulty spray paint. So test it first ~ spray it in the air, on your drop cloth, anything to make sure it's working properly.

Primer ~ use it. Most things you paint will hold their paint must better if you prime it first, especially on woods or dark finishes. Some things don't really need primer. For example, I didn't prime my daughter's doll bed makeover. But remember that wooden collage frame? Yeah, I didn't have any primer...and instead of running out and getting some it took 4 coats of spray paint. That wood just sucked in all the paint.

Know what you're painting. Most spray paints are good for metal, wood, shiny surfaces, etc. However, there's special spray paint for plastic and other materials. You want to pick the right paint or it won't cover well and you'll be disappointed.

There are tons of colors of spray paints. But my favorite so far? Key lime from Rust-oleum. That color makes me smile every.single.time I use it. You can check out a couple projects using that color here.

And that's it! Just a few helpful tips :) Now go paints something!!