Theatre Port

7 Tips on Spray Paint
Written by Laura Salvaggio

At first, canned spray paint seems pretty straight forward, however with experience you learn that there are many factors to consider when using this material..

7 Tips on Spray Paint
Written by Laura Salvaggio


At first, canned spray paint seems pretty straight forward, however with experience you learn that there are many factors to consider when using this material.


1. Wear a respirator- Spray paint is bad for you. In the short term, breathing too much of it can cause photosensitivity, headaches, nausea and all sorts of annoying symptoms. Long term it can cause brain damage and cancer.

2. Spray paint has a shelf life- Old cans of spray paint are more likely to gum up the nozzle. If you are buying, even a good brand of spray paint, from a discount store it is probably old.

3. It’s worth buying a good brand. My favorite brand of spray paint is Krylon, but there are a couple similarly priced brands that do about as well. I’ve found the better brands get about twice as much coverage as the cheap brands. Cheap brands are more likely to run out of compressed air in the can before the paint is gone, or gum up more quickly, or simply not have as much paint. The better brands also tend to get a more even spray.

4. Read the can for type- There are tons of new kinds of spray paint out there for different uses. Normal, old fashioned spray paint melts foam and doesn’t stick well to metal or plastic. In recent years they have developed foam safe spray paint (floral spray paint is also foam safe), as well as spray paint developed specifically to stick to plastic and metal. While the plastic spray paint still doesn’t stick as well as I had hoped, its better than anything else I’ve found for painting plastic.

5. Read the can for dry time- Some says it takes 3 minutes to dry to the touch and a couple hours to set completely. Some says it takes a couple hours to dry to the touch and overnight to set completely. In reality these times vary a bit depending on weather and such, but they are good guidelines. Personally, I ONLY buy the quick set kind for theater use. The longer setting kind has this issue where the tiny droplets get into the air and spread around the building… sticking to things like theater seating or curtains. Because it’s still wet as it travels, it will stain whatever it lands on. With the quickset kinds, the droplets are pretty dry by the time they travel ten feet, so they can be swept and brushed off surfaces when they travel.

6. Consider your location- If you are painting outside in the hot summer, the heat can cause the paint to dry inside your nozzle rather quickly. High heat combined with humidty can also cause the paint to only dry only on the surface, and remain wet underneath so it never completely dries. Very cold weather can mess with the paint’s ability to dry as well.

7. Accessorize- If you are spraying lots of paint out of cans, consider spending a couple dollars on an external trigger, such as the Krylon Snap and Spray attachment. This saves your finger from going numb from extended pressure in the same tiny place, and also saves the very tip of your finger from getting spray paint all over it from that little bit of overspray at the top of the nozzle.

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Originally Published on Friday, 10 August 2007-Right Here!

This column is reprinted with permission from http://www.TheaterHelper.com - Theater Helper is a blog by Laura Salvaggio, a scenery designer and painter who is currently based out of central New York. Laura received her BFA in Production Design from SUNY Fredonia and her MFA in Scenic Design from Temple University.

This column will be featured monthly on TheatrePort for the next several months-