Spray Painting Furniture
By Al Mu
Are you trying to figure what the best to paint that new wicker
chair? There are several different ways that you can go about this. The
first thing that you need to do is choose what color you want to use.
Your next decision is whether you are going to use spray paint or air
brushing. You might want to re-think the idea of air brushing a wicker
chair, mainly given the cost of painting something that way. The better
choice would be to use spray paint to do this as this is the least
expensive method possible.
What’s the first color that you would think of when you think of wicker
furniture? If you’re like most people, white is the very first color
that you would come up with. What about choosing another color? Do all
wicker products have to be white? The simplest answer to the question of
all wicker products needing to be painted white is no, not necessarily.
Most wicker products are white because this is the wicker’s natural
color. There is nothing that says that you cannot paint that new chair
pink or blue or even purple if you want to! The color you choose is
totally up to you and is only limited by what colors are available and
what your décor happens to be.
The next question becomes what type of spray paint you are going to
choose. You are probably saying “Now wait a blasted minute! Spray paint
is spray paint, are no other types of spray paint!” This is where you
are mistaken, as there are different formulations of spray paint
specifically designed for different tasks and different types of
materials. There is a formulation of spray paint especially for painting
on plastic as well as those designed to work no matter which direction
you are holding the can (upside down, sideways or right side up) or
spraying. Although this last one is a very recent innovation, it is out
there now. All you really need to do is choose what formulation works
for the task at hand and spray paint to your heart’s content!
Once you have you chosen color and know how you want your chair to look
once you are done, the next thing to do is prepare your work area. By
this we mean setting down newspaper on the floor and/or covering
anything that you don’t intend to spray paint with either plastic or
drop cloth to keep the paint mist from covering everything around you.
You want to make sure that you are wearing old clothes that you don’t
mind getting paint all over as well. Are you thinking about doing any
type of design on the chair as you are painting it? For this you need to
remember to let the paint dry at least 20 minutes before you switch
colors to do the design that you have in mind. This is simply common
sense and will make sure that you don’t end up with one big mess instead
of a beautifully painted chair! |
