Paint sprayer- Help me choose?

October 2, 2018 11:43 PM

Should I use a paint sprayer? I have a large wall hanging that looks like a carved teak wood mandala (similar to this), but it's actually made of something like light MDF or pressed cardboard. I'd like to paint it....

But my concerns are that:
It's a very fiddly shape with hundreds of cutouts- so painting it with a brush would be awful.
And it probably shouldn't get too wet, as the MDF substance might swell, so dipping it in paint seems like a bad idea.

It came painted with a light coat of chalky, matte, blue-grey paint, front and back.

I'd like to paint it white, with a chalky, shabby-chic sort of finish- it's ok if the blue colour shows a bit, and I will probably lightly sand the high points to emphasize the pattern.

I was imagining using a paint sprayer, with watered-down chalk paint, and doing it on a sunny day so it dries really fast ... is that a good idea?

If so, what should I look for in a good, but not pricey, paint sprayer, and any tips to do a good job with the sprayer?

Thanks!

posted by pseudostrabismus to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

Best answer: Is there a reason you don't want to do it with canned spray paint? That's certainly where I'd head.
posted by deadwax at 12:55 AM on October 3, 2018 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Yeah, what deadwax said. Chalk paint is available as canned spray paint.
posted by amro at 5:17 AM on October 3, 2018

Response by poster: Avoiding canned spraypaint because this thing is 4 feet in diameter and has hundreds of cutouts I'd need to spray into with a tiny nozzle!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 5:19 AM on October 3, 2018

Best answer: Spray paint tends to get anywhere that you can see (within the reach of the spray). The part that you can't paint, you generally can't see either.

If you can see into the cutouts, you can spray paint into them with a normal spray can.
If you can't, why worry about them?
posted by Too-Ticky at 5:25 AM on October 3, 2018

Best answer: As above. Set it down horizontally on something that elevates it slightly so there's an air gap between the support and the medallion, and use a spray can. You want the air gap or the paint will stick the thing down. You'll easily get into every crevice if you make four or six light passes on it as it rests flat on a table on some pebbles, or using saw horses. Make each pass from a different angle around a circle. You don't need to put the nozzle in each crack individually. Just hold it at a 45 degree angle, moving at a consistent moderately fast speed over a consistent 12-18" distance.

Practice on something else first, but it's not that tricky.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:37 AM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I like the Critter Spray Gun. It uses mason jars, so you can store any leftover paint right in the jar. It's much easier to clean than any other spray gun I've used. I have never tried it with chalk paint.
posted by slipthought at 5:47 AM on October 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: ^^ That spray gun looks perfect and I can borrow a compressor. Thank you for the suggestion!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 6:26 AM on October 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You will not find the utility of a spray gun much greater than a can in this instance, expense, mess and muck around will be significantly more though.
posted by deadwax at 2:37 PM on October 3, 2018

Response by poster: I reconsidered and used spray chalk paint, and it worked fine. Thanks all!
posted by pseudostrabismus at 9:53 PM on November 12, 2018 [1 favorite]