How To Paint A Plastic Barrel To Look Like Wood

Photo Courtesy: eclipse_images/E+/Getty Images

From the cabinets in your kitchen to a slice of furniture to a fun arts and crafts, there are plenty of wood items you lot can paint. And one of the best things about wood is that it accepts a variety of paints well, whether you opt for something that's acrylic or an oil-based formula. Painting wood is an easy way to change its wait and give it some new personality, but it'southward not ever clear what pigment to utilise for dissimilar projects and applications. Here's what you lot need to know about the right paint to use for wood.

What's Your Project?

Kickoff, it's essential to figure out the nature of your project, significant y'all'll need to determine not simply what yous're painting just also where it'southward located or going to be used. Are you painting shingles on the exterior of your dwelling house? Or are yous painting an outdoor deck that'll see a lot of pes traffic? How about kitchen cabinets that people will bear on oftentimes, or a bath shelf that'll exist exposed to high humidity from the shower?

Knowing things like whether or non it's going to get wet, how often someone's going to utilize information technology or touch on it and what overall result or look yous want to achieve are all essential for determining what paint you lot should employ for the project. Wood accepts a very broad range of paints and stains, just each of those tin can have differing levels of durability and protection. Some paints are better than others in certain situations, and you'll demand to know your particular situation before you make your choice.

The bang-up affair about wood is that, as long as you apply primer to it in most cases, any type of paint works well on it, depending on what part yous demand your project to serve. By and large speaking, paints to use on wood are water-based or oil-based. Acrylic and latex are the two well-nigh common types of water-based paints, while oil-based paints fall into two categories: synthetic or natural. Each of these is improve than others for specific applications.

Latex paint is quick-drying, easy to make clean and meliorate for the surround than other types. Information technology's also less probable to discolor over fourth dimension. Yet, it'southward not the most durable pick, every bit information technology can scratch and chip easily. It'due south best for indoor wood items or surfaces that you won't touch or employ very often, such as rarely used article of furniture, storage cabinet doors, stair spindles and picture frames. Latex pigment is often the most affordable type.

Acrylic paint is ideal for habitation exteriors, although you can also use oil-based pigment hither. If the exterior is fabricated up of unlike materials, such every bit rock and wood, you're amend off choosing acrylic. Materials like stone and masonry demand breathable paint to permit wet and water vapor to laissez passer through, and oil-based paint prevents this. Acrylic craft paints are also widely available and piece of cake to use and clean up if y'all're doing a simple DIY craft project using wood.

Synthetic oil paint, which is also called alkyd, is the best option for applications where you need a lot more than durability. Think everyday furniture that'll become used and jostled often, kitchen and bath cabinets, interior trims like baseboards and door frames that'll get kicked and touched often, and floor indoors and out. Oil-based paints are more than rigid than flexible, h2o-based types and then they're less probable to chip — fifty-fifty when people are walking on them — and they're also easier to launder clean because of this.

Natural oil paint, called linseed, is best for craft projects on which yous want to create a warm, aged patina. It's typically much more expensive than the synthetic multifariousness, which is why information technology'southward best for smaller projects.

Prepping for the Projection

To help the paint adhere well and to ensure the finish looks its all-time when everything is dry, it's important to prep your forest to get information technology ready. If you're painting an exterior surface or item, give everything a thorough wash to make sure at that place isn't any clay, dust, moss or algae, all of which tin go along the paint from sticking to the surface. If you lot're painting wood deck article of furniture, a tabular array or something else for the outdoors that people will impact frequently, it's a wise idea to sand information technology earlier painting to give the pigment something smooth to attach to. Splinters and cracks can too keep the finished product from looking its best, and they're uncomfortable to sit on. Let the surface or or detail dry out out fully before applying the paint, and give it a few days to dry and start curing before you lot utilize it. Information technology's all-time to exercise outdoor woods-painting projects while the weather is nice.

If y'all're repainting an interior surface or article of furniture such as kitchen cabinetry or a dresser, take a await at the existing paint or finish. If the item's current paint isn't chipped, cracked or bubbling, you can usually pigment right over information technology; simply sand the woods areas briefly to give the surface more texture for the paint to stick to. If yous don't need to remove chiffonier paint, it's nonetheless a good idea to clean the doors with a heavy-duty solution like TSP to eliminate all traces of grease and grime. If you do need to remove a little bit of paint, such as a few chipped areas, y'all can sand them downward. Nonetheless, you may need to use paint stripper for items with pigment that's very damaged. This is a product that softens the old paint so y'all tin scrape and wipe information technology all off.

A word of caution hither: If your cabinets or other painted domicile surfaces were last washed in the 1970s or earlier, they may incorporate atomic number 82-based paint. If y'all use a testing kit and determine there'southward pb in your paint, phone call the National Lead Information Heart or your local health department to find out how to proceed.