How To Paint Blades Of Grass

Photo Courtesy: eclipse_images/E+/Getty Images

From the cabinets in your kitchen to a piece of furniture to a fun arts and crafts, there are plenty of wood items you can pigment. And ane of the best things about wood is that information technology accepts a diversity of paints well, whether you opt for something that'due south acrylic or an oil-based formula. Painting wood is an like shooting fish in a barrel way to modify its await and requite it some new personality, but it's not always clear what paint to use for different projects and applications. Here's what you need to know about the right paint to apply for woods.

What's Your Project?

Kickoff, it's essential to figure out the nature of your project, pregnant yous'll need to make up one's mind not only what you lot're painting just too where information technology's located or going to exist used. Are you lot painting shingles on the exterior of your home? Or are you painting an outdoor deck that'll encounter a lot of foot traffic? How about kitchen cabinets that people will touch often, or a bathroom shelf that'll be exposed to loftier humidity from the shower?

Knowing things like whether or non it's going to get wet, how often someone's going to apply it or touch it and what overall effect or look you desire to achieve are all essential for determining what paint you should use for the projection. Wood accepts a very broad range of paints and stains, just each of those tin have differing levels of durability and protection. Some paints are amend than others in certain situations, and you'll need to know your particular situation before you make your choice.

Paint Types and Formulas

The great thing about wood is that, every bit long every bit you utilise primer to information technology in about cases, any type of pigment works well on it, depending on what function y'all need your projection to serve. Generally speaking, paints to use on woods are water-based or oil-based. Acrylic and latex are the 2 most common types of water-based paints, while oil-based paints autumn into two categories: synthetic or natural. Each of these is meliorate than others for specific applications.

Latex pigment is quick-drying, easy to clean and better for the environment than other types. It'due south too less likely to discolor over time. Notwithstanding, it'due south non the most durable choice, as it tin can scratch and scrap hands. It'due south all-time for indoor wood items or surfaces that yous won't touch or use very often, such as rarely used piece of furniture, storage chiffonier doors, stair spindles and picture show frames. Latex paint is often the most affordable type.

Acrylic paint is ideal for home exteriors, although you can also use oil-based pigment here. If the outside is fabricated up of unlike materials, such as stone and wood, you're improve off choosing acrylic. Materials like rock and masonry need breathable paint to allow moisture and water vapor to pass through, and oil-based pigment prevents this. Acrylic arts and crafts paints are also widely bachelor and easy to use and clean upwards if you're doing a simple DIY craft projection using wood.

Synthetic oil paint, which is also called alkyd, is the best choice for applications where you demand a lot more than immovability. Think everyday piece of furniture that'll get used and jostled often, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, interior trims like baseboards and door frames that'll get kicked and touched often, and flooring indoors and out. Oil-based paints are more than rigid than flexible, water-based types so they're less likely to bit — even when people are walking on them — and they're also easier to launder clean because of this.

Natural oil paint, called linseed, is best for arts and crafts projects on which you want to create a warm, aged patina. Information technology'due south typically much more than expensive than the synthetic variety, which is why it's best for smaller projects.

Prepping for the Project

To help the paint adhere well and to ensure the finish looks its best when everything is dry out, it'southward important to prep your wood to go information technology ready. If you're painting an exterior surface or item, give everything a thorough wash to make sure there isn't any dirt, grit, moss or algae, all of which can keep the pigment from sticking to the surface. If you lot're painting forest deck piece of furniture, a table or something else for the outdoors that people volition touch frequently, it's a wise idea to sand information technology before painting to give the pigment something smooth to adhere to. Splinters and cracks can also keep the finished product from looking its best, and they're uncomfortable to sit on. Let the surface or or item dry fully before applying the paint, and give it a few days to dry and start curing before yous utilize information technology. It'southward best to do outdoor woods-painting projects while the atmospheric condition is nice.

If you're repainting an interior surface or furniture such equally kitchen cabinetry or a dresser, have a look at the existing paint or finish. If the item's current paint isn't chipped, cracked or bubbling, you tin can unremarkably paint right over information technology; only sand the forest areas briefly to give the surface more texture for the paint to stick to. If you don't need to remove cabinet paint, it's still a good idea to make clean the doors with a heavy-duty solution like TSP to eliminate all traces of grease and grime. If you exercise need to remove a little fleck of paint, such as a few chipped areas, you can sand them downwards. All the same, you lot may need to use paint stripper for items with pigment that'south very damaged. This is a product that softens the old paint so yous can scrape and wipe it all off.

A word of caution here: If your cabinets or other painted home surfaces were last done in the 1970s or earlier, they may contain atomic number 82-based pigment. If y'all utilise a testing kit and determine there's atomic number 82 in your paint, call the National Atomic number 82 Information Heart or your local health section to detect out how to proceed.