You would think that after so many successful projects I’ve mastered the art of spray painting.
Nah……learnt it the hard way this weekend. This is how the whole thing played out.
See the oval frame in the basement bedroom in the last row? With the addition of the chevron & bird print fabric chair the room needed more navy. Enter a can of Rustoleum Navy.
Usually I paint in the garage but this time the car was parked in there. It was kinda cold and I was feeling lazy to move the car out to the driveway. The genius that I am decided to switch to plan B, paint on the deck. What’s the harm if I lay down layers of newspaper to protect the deck?
All was hunky dory until it started…………snowing! I mean not snowing snowing but quite a few flurries. Yah, so much for not checking the weather before deciding to do something outside (mistake #1)!
Panic attack #1 – Scrambled outside to survey the damage. Checked to see if the paint is dry so that it could be moved inside. Sadly realized that the paint was as sticky as glue!
Went back inside and hoped against hope that the flurries would just vanish. Things didn’t look any better after an hr or so. The flurries seemed to have actually smeared the paint in quite a few places.
Panic attack #2 – Rushed inside grabbed the paint can and added another coat to ‘fix’ the smears (mistake #2).
By now the situation was getting out of hand.
Panic Attack #3 -Think think think…. Shield the frame from the flurries somehow, aka.
No, that didn’t work. The flurries didn’t stop either. The whole saga ended with B, who was aghast that I messed up his beloved Trex deck with paint, moving the frame to the garage. Of course he had to grab it with the newspaper coz the paint was still very wet (mistake #3). Even inside the garage it took 4-5 hrs to dry! Close to 10 hrs for 3 coats of spray paint to dry! Talk about humidity!
When it was dry it looked like this.
From the front looks fine but the sides are a mess. Any ideas on how to get the paper out? I think I’ll have to sand it down and start all over again.
Oh, I also ended up with this…..
While I was busy adding a coat of paint during panic attack #2 didn’t realize that the paper had moved! 🙁 Now, got to look up ways to remove the paint from the deck! Power wash may be?
Lessons learnt – Check the weather before you decide to paint outside and always always make sure that your spray paint doesn’t spray on unwanted surfaces!
Have you guys had any goof ups like this?
Oh…great tips to take care about. Btw you can use a normal paint stripper to clean your deck using scrapper.
Thanks Priti. Not sure how the paint stripper will work coz it is a Trex deck. From what I’ve found on Google it says to use olive oil and a plastic scrapper. Let me see if that works.
Vidya
Yeah, I know the feeling. My hubby flipped when I spray painted something on the grass! I figured it would grow and he’d just mow it out. What’s the biggie?
I think the paint can says not to spray unless the temperature is between X and Y (whatever — you’ll have to look) so that would explain the tacky/long drying time issue.
🙂 I keep saying that B doesn’t reading the instructions. Guess I don’t either!
V
Hi, test this in an inconspicuous spot first. Try methyl hydrate (that’s denatured alcohol if you’re in the US). If the alcohol doesn’t affect the astic deck boards (like… melting it from a chemical reaction), you should be able to use it as a mild paint remover. A much better/stronger household chemical that would definitely work is lacquer thinner, and that stuff is super strong. It really depends on the type of plastic (some will melt, some won’t). We use laquer thinner at work in our finishing room, and plastic toothbrushes are used to clean the spray guns. The plastic in the toothbrushes has no effect with the thinner, but plastic cups will melt completely in the thinner. Test it. Both chemicals are pretty cheap.
Thank you so much JC. Will definitely try that and let you know how it goes.
Vidya
I use these to clean up overspray: http://www.amazon.com/Tub-Towels-Heavy-Duty-Multi-Surface-Cleaning/dp/B00CRKWX0G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396679757&sr=8-1&keywords=tub+on+towels They are quite effective and should be fine for your deck . (I’ve used them on hardwood floors without issues)
Mr.clean Magic erasers are made of melamine foam… No other chemicals. They are basically like a super super ( power of 10) fine grit sandpaper sponge. Soak it in water, squeeze the water out so its damp and try it on the painted area. It may remove the finish a bit if you go too hard but it’ll likely remove that paint first. Hope that helps.
Thanks Anna. I’ve used the Magic erasers before on walls but never thought about using it on the deck. Will try that too.
Vidya
Thanks Jennifer. Haven’t heard of them. Will definitely give it a try and let you know.
Vidya
I foolishly spray painted a counter–inside. Talk about impulsive. Looks great now but–I did not anticipate the spray paint black cloud that formed while spraying would eventually land on brand new hardwood floors after I removed the drop cloths hours later. After discovering my bare feet were black I quickly had to hand scrub the entire downstairs! But the counter still looks 100% better and it cost less than $10. Hope your frame still looks great.