Spraying Enamel Paint Properly

Posted on 2011/02/22 by admin

It’s really nice to have at home some pieces of furniture made from metal. They have a certain look about them that earns you the appreciation of people visiting your home. But, the limitation of such furniture is that after a couple of years they tend to develop scratches and begin to fade.

As the paint starts chipping off from the metallic furniture, you would start looking for ways to repaint or spray the affected area with paint. Before you undertake any painting project you should know its basics.

You have to get the necessary items for doing the needful. You’ll need some old dress that can be used while you undertake the actual process of painting as you certainly wouldn’t like to spoil one of your better dresses with stains of paint or such chemicals.

Then, you need appropriate gear to protect your eyes from splashes of paint and of course a pair of gloves to save your hands from the ill effects of chemicals contained in the paint and other chemicals that you’ll be expected to handle. Some such chemicals might cause irritation on skin.

Now, you have to look for a suitable spot for doing the real job. When the weather is good, you may carry painting outdoors. If it’s not practical to carry the job outdoors, you have to get an appropriate place within the house. Make sure that the spot is well ventilated and not totally enclosed. Ventilation is of prime importance as the fumes coming out from the paint could give you a feeling of dizziness.

You have to ensure that the item to be painted is free from any old paint and rust. Use sandpaper for getting rid of such flaws and finally dust of all the impurities with a brush to get a clean even finish. Any part of the furniture not needing fresh paint can be sealed off with a masking tape.

Now, you may proceed with the real task of enamel paint applying. You have the option of using spray can or a paintbrush. Handling of spray can to spray on metals is a bit more difficult and needs some patience, but is not all that difficult as you get used to it after a while.

Depending on the kind of paint used, you would be required to allow the furniture to get dried for a few hours or may be overnight. After the surface hardens and acquires a glossy look, you may move in the furniture to its place in the house.

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Using Enamel Paint To Make The Right Finish

Posted on 2011/01/19 by admin

Though it’s true that colors and textures coupled with layers of enamel suffice to make a statement, it’s equally true that it won’t really be outstanding unless it is given the right finish. Enamel paint is one item that can be employed to give an ultimate texture to the piece of art you are making. Getting to know how it could add to the final touch and applying it to different pieces of your creations can then help you to fashion a different look to all enamel products you make.

Special types of enamel paints are used to get the exact finish. The difference depends on the materials used and the thickness of texture applied. Of these, the two that are most often used are either oil or alkyd based. The water-based products usually have some content of acrylic or latex in them. Some such products also contain polyurethane, urethane or some such solvents. The difference among them depends on the thickness of the final texture and the intensity of gloss added.

Color variations create special effects using enamel paints. Most often you need a clear compound, which offers a shiny finish or gleam to the item you are handling. You may use the paint to change its color texture. The minerals and the use of different materials in the mixture create differences in appearance from eggshell, low luster, semi-gloss and high gloss. The use of minerals and various materials for making the mixture causes the difference in appearance that could vary from low luster, eggshell and from semi gloss to high gloss. The differences depend upon the thickness as also the degree of gloss and shine that comes after drying.

There are many benefits of using enamel paint in finishing of your product. It changes the quality of what you produce. It provides a protective layer to your pieces of art and ensures that the looks of you art piece continue to be glossy. It protects your work from getting damaged as a consequence of chipping of paint or the enamel. It influences the ultimate looks of your work, primarily due to glossy covering over the enamel. It affects the ultimate color, texture and the overall look, giving it a unique look.
In case you are keen to have a definite shine on your creations and crafts you should certainly consider enamel paint. They help you in bringing around luster to your work with a slightly altered look, texture and feel to it. They not only provide a protective coating but also render slight noticeable difference to the final piece.

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How To Use Enamel Paint To The Max!

Posted on 2010/12/08 by admin

The use of enamel paint for art and crafts is very tricky, as it can make or mar the project that might have consumed a lot of your time and effort. You can never be too sure of its drying time and even after getting dried it could pose problems, delivering highly unexpected outcome. It’s not unusual for an enthusiastic painter to have chosen to use enamel paint for their project only to be utterly disappointed at the end of it all.

Nevertheless, enamel paint offers many benefits. It’s hard like nails, lasts for a lifetime, and has a shiny smooth and translucent finish that is generally not achieved using acrylic paints. Should you prefer to use it, enamel delivers hard to believe advantages, particularly when used with metals and ceramics, examples will be various types of models, attractive lawn accessories and handmade enamel jewelry.

Here are five steps, and following these all you will find painting more fun and help you protect your project in future.

Prime time is forever.

If the item you intend using enamel paint for is made of metal, wood, or plastic, you should apply at least one coat of primer before applying any enamel on that. Priming has many benefits. For one, it helps preventing formation of mold, mildew, and rust, while safeguarding the objects from warping. It further ensures that the enamel paint remains glossy and smooth over the surface of the object. It also thwarts stickiness after the enamel paint gets dry.

You may procure primer from hardware shops or stores dealing in arts and crafts materials. It comes in spray-can and also in liquid form.

Don’t think that all brushes are all the same. As enamel paints use oil as a base, they are sure to stick to the brush used for applying the enamel.

Enamel paints need brushes specifically made for handling their density and thickness. It will be good to have a few extra pieces of each size at hand before commencing your project.

Enamel paint could be as thin as water or as thick as molasses, depending on the color used. You may be required to add some quantity of paint thinner to the enamel paint to ensure that it spreads evenly and smoothly on the object being handled. Paint thinner is also used for cleaning the brushes at the end of the day and also for getting rid of spots and stains that are often caused on hands, clothing, and other surfaces. But, don’t forget that it is extremely harmful if swallowed, or on coming in contact with the eyes.

The best environment for drying the enamel includes a bit of humidity accompanied with slight but not vast air circulation. Further, you should ensure adequate ventilation when applying enamel as it emits hazardous fumes which could cause dizziness.

Sealants, while helping to protect the enamel from getting chipped, also help keep away dust, which the oil-based paints are characteristically prone to attract and grasp like flypaper. Normally, sealants are available in spray-can format, and thus be applied in seconds. Enamel paint being naturally lustrous, a matte finish should be opted for if the subject matter is like jewelry, statuary, models that should not have a shining exterior.

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Basics On Acrylic And Enamel Paints

Posted on 2010/11/30 by admin

Art and craft enthusiasts who are new to the profession are often faced with the dilemma of choosing an appropriate paint for their works of art in glass, wood and other types of surfaces. A wrong selection leads to disappointments and irritation despite the loss of valuable time and materials.

One should be able to distinguish between the characteristics of acrylic paints and enamels, understand their chemical composition and know which would give best result on what kind of surface. Having such an understanding saves a lot of botheration while the project is underway or on way to the completion stage.

Acrylic paint is water based

Acrylic paints are water-based. That means their basic constituent is water to which concentrated color pigments are added. When the water gets evaporated, the pigment remains adhered to the painting surface.

Acrylic paints give better results when applied to non-porous surfaces like that of plastic and wood. It’s also perfect medium for children’s projects, as its water base facilitates for convenient of cleaning and removing with normal hot water and soap.

Primer goes on before acrylics

For getting best result with acrylics, the surface to be painted needs to be adequately prepared by application of at least one coat of primer. Primer is fairly cheap, normally offered in white and gray shades, and may be procured from the same source as the spray paint- that is craft and hardware stores. Using primer of darker color results to having a finish it a darker hue, whereas white primer gives a slightly brighter hue to the finished project.

The right kind of Acrylic paint brands

There are four major brands of acrylic paints available at most crafts stores like Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, and A.C. Moore. The brands include Americana, Apple Barrel, Folk Art, and Delta Ceramcoat. Americana paints have possibly the largest selection of colors, and their range of yellows, reds, and browns are the best in the industry. Ceramcoat offers the best of blues and greens, with Folk Art’s somewhat lower price offering quality, particularly with its wide range of metallic-finish enamel paints. Apple Barrel has on offer several hues of red, blue, and earth tones that the others do not.

Enamel paint is oil-based, sturdier, and more temperamental

Enamel paints on the other hand are oil based, typically used in fine arts painting and model-making as well. Enamel is certainly longer lasting than acrylic paint, as it won’t chip or flake off so easily. Nevertheless, that good feature is also its greatest failing.

Enamel paint is ideally suited for being used with canvas and ceramic, particularly so when a completed painting is treated with a glazing agent or sealant. At times, enamel paint when used on plastic doesn’t get dried totally and continues to remain sticky to the touch long after the project has been over.

Painters handling enamel are necessarily required to use paint thinner (turpentine) to get rid of the spots of paint from their skin and garments. You may find it interesting to learn that most of commercial nail polishes sold in the market are indeed the same types of enamel paints as available in hobby and craft stores.

Model kit sections of craft stores provide testers’ enamel paints as also other brands in the fine arts sections. There is quite a variation in prices, but the unit price of enamel is certainly higher than acrylic.

Sealing acrylic paints

Hobbyists advise using a fixative, or sealant for protecting acrylic paints. The most popular brand, Testor’s Dull-Cote, delivers a matte finish and is often available in the model kit section, next to the enamel paints.

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