Spray Paint: Pros and Cons
August 10, 2009
I was finishing up a bench this morning, using one of my favorite tools: spray paint. As I was working, I was going back over all of your emails that you’ve sent to me asking questions about spray paint, expressing your fear or relaying your love for the aerosol can.
In my humble opinion, these are the top ten pros and cons when it comes to the use of spray paint.
Pros
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Spray paint offers more even coverage without brush strokes.
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Spray primer is a million times faster than brush primer.
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Spray paint is a million times faster than brush on paint.
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Spray paint is typically oil based, therefore more durable than water based spray or regular latex paint.
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Spray paint is easy to use outdoors, with a drop cloth and some newspaper.
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Specialty spray paints can be used to transform metal, wicker, plastic, resin and other surfaces.
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Spray paint dries much faster than paint out of a can (without an additive).
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With a spray paint nozzle gun in hand, you can conquer the world, or at least, transform a piece of furniture without losing your mind to a million brush strokes.
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Clean up is quicker – no brushes to rinse or buckets to wash.
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Spray paint feels a little devious – at least in my state – you have to be of a certain age to purchase it.
Cons
- Compared to latex paint, there are limited color choices beyond the great ‘Heirloom White’ and some of the ‘American Accents’ line by Rustoleum.
- Spray paint is more expensive per square foot of coverage.
- Spray paint requires ventilated area in which to work. You can’t use it indoors.
- Drips are tricky. I use my finger to wipe up drips, but they take away from the smoothness of even coverage.
- Spray paint is typically oil based, so clean up on your hands requires mineral spirits or really strong exfoliation.
- Spray paint is extremely toxic (therefore, wear a mask).
- A bad nozzle will spatter paint and ruin your day.
- Spray primer is not as durable as brush primer so it shouldn’t be used on high traffic pieces (ex: tabletops).
- Without a spray paint nozzle gun, your fingers can cramp.
- I read somewhere that aerosol cans are bad for the environment. For a very boring interesting article on how an aerosol can of spray paint works, look here.
Rules I Follow:
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Shake shake shake. Shake shake shake. Shake your spray can. Shake your spray can.
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Always spray 7 inches away from your piece, and move back and forth in a rapid motion.
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Two thin coats is better than one thick coat – you risk drips.
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Start your spray in an inconspicuous spot in case it spatters out of the can.
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Quality varies, so I mostly use Rustoleum brand spray paints.
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Always wear a mask, disposable or otherwise. Have you seen the warning label on a can of spray paint? Couldn’t be more toxic.
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Dispose of your cans properly at a toxic waste disposal sites.
Here’s a throwback to a few months ago, but take a look at some brass thrift store finds that I transformed with a can of spray paint in this post.
Before:
After:
What has been your experience with spray paint? Are you as big of a fan as I am? Do you fear the spray can? Did I miss any pros or cons?
What tips can you share to help us all be better in our application?
Tags: brush paint, spray paint
I just had to pop over and read this post! I’ve got some spray paint projects planned… Thanks for the tips! And, I absolutely love the transformation of your metal items!!!!! You are a star!!!!
[...] One of the articles I wrote way back when that initiated some good discussion, was this article on Spray Paint: Pros and Cons. Feel free to chime in and offer your two [...]
Do you suggest using primer for any of your spray painting projects? Do you sand between coats?
I thinks it’s great stuff; use it all the time!
Your before and after looks so pretty!
Sue
I am a Scenic Artist by trade, meaning I paint scenery for theatres, and I use a lot of spray paint. I agree that sometimes a can of spray paint can be magical, but I always take great precaution when using it. The fumes are very toxic (not to mention they smell terrible!) and I use a respirator, not just a mask. Most masks that people have are particle masks and do not help with harmful vapors. Check that your respirator is made for chemical vapors, not just particles. Also, be sure to wear gloves. The chemicals will also seep through your skin and into your bloodstream if they contact your hands. It does not burn or anything immediate, it’s just not a terribly healthy thing to have in your body. I say the fewer chemicals that we are exposed to, the better. But using some simple protections, I am a fan of the magical land of spray paint. Great blog, I’m a new fan!
This is a wonderful article. I am glad there is someone out there for give advices regarding spray paint. Just wanted to let everyone know about a new brand of spray paint “Bosny” that has recently appeared on the U.S. market. Nowadays, a lot of us are concerned with prices for any products we buy, Bosny is much cheaper than the products by Krylon, Valspar or Rust-Oleum. At the same time, Bosny paint has very good quality and has a lot of specialty paints and a large assortment of colors.
I hope this helps! Enjoy painting everyone!
I made the very stupid mistake of spraypainting a table indoors recently. Even though I opened all my windows, the air still filled with a strong (not to mention toxic) smell. And a strange white dust ended up all over the place, even in rooms I hadn’t been painting in. Best part: finding spraypaint in my nostrils. I did it really stupidly for my first time. Next time I will for sure do it outdoors and wear a mask. No more messing around with the stuff indoors, the cleanup afterwards was a total pain.
[...] addressed this query last year, you can read all about in in this article about the pros and cons of spray paint. Several other issues are addressed in the following [...]
Great tips …..Thankyou, xv.
I have a question about painting metal. I’ve tried to paint two chandeliers now and while hanging them the chain seemed to scratch off the finish so easily! Should I be priming or waiting for it to dry even longer?
I’m way late to this post. I got here clicking through some of your other great spray painting tutorials and tips.
I love spray paint and your tips are fantastic. I’m just getting ready to spray paint some beds I bought for my nieces and it was great to be reminded about using several thin coats to avoid the drips!
I really do appreciate your great posts.
As an environmental scientist I have to say that spray paints are extremely bad for the environment. As a result I swore off using them, and have held that promise ever since … about 8 or so years now.
You just changed my mind.
Now all I need is something to paint … the question being where to start first …
Claudia mentioned a spray paint named Bosny. I am interested where to buy Bosny spray paint. I haven’t seen it anywhere in my area of Lancaster, PA.
Great site and I am really loving your projects. I also love the DIY stuff. I have some brass door handles that DEFINITELY gotta go, so I would love to spray paint them the Oil Rubbed Bronze color. A couple of questions for you though… do they (or any metal piece) need to be spray primed first, or just directly spray painted a few times?.And can you recommend the best paint and primer (if needed) to use. I looked for the ORB color at Canadian tire yesterday, but didn’t find any…will keep looking though.
Can’t wait to paint these suckers.
I am sad to say I FEAR it! Not sure why…I can paint and tile and do lots of stuff, but for some reason spray paint seems scary. Now I am inspired to give it a try!
hmmm, wished I had of read this part before I started spraying! I had read your FAQ’s but missed this post. Damn nozzle – my paint is splattering!!!!!!! I will try the old pin trick to clean it but wondering if it can be saved or is a bad nozzle as good as dead?
I know I am very late coming here, but in case it may help someone, I’d like to leave a tip for cleaning up from oil point or spray paint or the resin from pine cones. Rather than use turpentines or other harsh chemicals, you can simply put some sort of fat on your hands – crisco, butter, lard or even vegetable oil. You just smear a little on and wash your hands with your regular hand soap and it comes right off. It’s sort of amazing. I used to do a lot of work with pine cones and would keep the paper that came off of butter sticks in the fridge to grab a few of when I went out to pick or when I was crafting with them. There was enough left on the paper taken off of cold butter to work with regular hand wipes. So very much healthier than using turpentine.
And you know that turpentine is toxic (fatally so) to cats to put on them if they get paint spilled on their fur, so now you know you can just use a little bit of oil or butter and work it in, then wash and rinse well and it’s all gone and cat is healthy!!
Spread the word! Keep turpentine and chemicals off your skin, your children and your pets!
Thanks for such wonderful tips!
I accidentally inhaled some today and am convinced I’ve shortened my life by 20 years. Went straight to Home Depot and bought masks after that episode. Thanks for sharing tidbits on spray paint.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’ve seriously changed the way I re-do. I never had the patience for regular paint and now that I’ve met Centsational Girl and Rustoleum, watch out ;)