Tutorial: Spray Painting

If you caught a glimpse of my Baker's Rack on the back balcony, you'll understand the need for this tutorial. Basically the whole area needed a makeover, but we'll start with the repainting of the rack.

Let's go ahead and show you the "before" shot.

The first rule of spray painting: you will always need more than you think, and likely more than you buy. So grab a few extra cans...you can always return them and you'll be thanking yourself for not having to stop in the middle of a project to get more.

I wanted a soft ivory for my Baker's Rack, so I chose Krylon's White Primer and Ivory Satin paint.



First I cleaned the rack, then sanded down the spots that were rusty. Preparing the surface is a critical step-make sure you take time to sand and prime no matter what surface you are working with. After wiping down with a damp rag and allowing to dry, I began with the primer. You want to keep the can about 6 inches away from the surface and move in sweeping motions. Don't try to get complete coverage in 1 or 2 coats, just keep applying paint in light sweeping coats, and it will eventually get a nice finish-trust me! After priming here is what the rack looked like.

Once the primer is dry (it didn't take very long in the heat here!), you can begin with your main color. I used 3 cans of the ivory before I achieved the finish I wanted. Here it is all cleaned up in its home- I made sure to clean the vinyl siding and the floor before putting the rack back-no halfway jobs here!

And now, with some $0.99 plastic storage bins and a few relocated plants. Our chimney starter needs a new coat of paint as well-stay tuned for a tutorial on restoring rusted items!