Spray Can & Spray Gun Basics

SPRAY CAN PAINTING:

1. So spray can cover edges, open drawers of cabinets being sprayed about 1/2-inch Leave drawers open until the paint dries.
2. Turn chairs upside down. Do the legs and rungs first. Then turn the chair over and do the backs and seats.
3. If project is "open," hold spray can at about 45-degrees-such as on this cane chair. This trick reduces paint thickness.
4. Pretest spray pattern. Hold can about 12-inch from surface to be painted. Move the can forward/backward for best pattern.
5. Move spray can from right to left. Go slightly past edges, keeping the can even and the same distance from the surface.
6. The next following spray patterns should overlap approximately 1/3rd.
7. Keep the spray nozzle as square to the surface being painted as possible to avoid sags and drips. To clear the paint nozzle, turn the can upside down and press the spray nozzle until no more paint comes from the container. If the spray nozzle becomes damaged, you can buy new nozzles very inexpensively at most stores that sell this type of spray can. If the hole in the nozzle becomes clogged with paint, you may be able to open it with a pin.

SPRAY GUN PAINTING:
To spray paint with a gun, the spray gun must be in motion as it starts across the surface to be painted.

1. As you pull the trigger on some spray guns, the first projection will be air followed by paint. The trick is to feather the paint onto the surface as you start spraying the surface, and then to feather the paint off the surface as you complete the arc with your arm. Hold your wrist firmly so the spray gun always remains at right angles to the surface. The heaviest paint concentration will be in the center of the spray pattern and the edges of the pattern will feather out. As you go back and forth across the surface, you will have to lap these feathered edges so the paint will be the same thickness throughout.
2. Strain the paint, especially paint taken from a pre-used bucket, through a filter that you can buy at home center stores. The paint also should be thoroughly mixed and properly thinned so it flows on surfaces smoothly and evenly.
3. As you spray, keep the nozzle of the gun about 8 ins. away from the surface being painted. Try to keep the nozzle of the gun at a 90-degree angle to the vertical surface. Buying tip: test the balance of the gun/paint cup in your hand. Too much weight toward the nozzle can make spraying difficult.
4. Follow the spray pattern and overlap each stroke by about 1/3 to 1/2. But easy does it on the amount of paint you apply. It should be fairly thin-in strokes-and not piled up in one area so the paint runs and sags.
5. It's best to overlap or overspray a surface such as a corner, but it is recommended that you spray back toward the corner (outside) rather than flipping the spray out past the corner as mentioned in the Booklet text.
6. In both horizontal and vertical strokes, be sure to keep the spray gun as square to the surface as possible. By being square, the paint is distributed evenly onto the surface. The trick is all in the wrist. Keep the wrist firm from the start to the finish of the lap.
7. Never swing the spray gun in an arc, as this illustration shows. What happens here is that the center of the stroke on the surface will have too much paint while the ends of the stroke will have too little paint. If the spray gun is attached to a paint feeder hose (as opposed to a paint cup arrangement), you will have to form a loop in the hose and hold it with your other hand in order to keep the nozzle of the gun at right angles. Don't try to support the gun AND hose with one hand.