Don't be afraid of color - painting in 6 steps

1. Prepare the elements and surroundings 

     Props should be dry and dust-free – wipe the item with a slightly dampened cloth and wait for it to dry.  We recommend spray painting (But luckily, you don’t need any professional equipment!) You will be most comfortable doing it outside or in a well-ventilated room. However, if you do not have such options – prepare yourself a large cardboard box and put it on its side. This will be your protection of the space around you. 

     Wear gloves to protect your hands from the paint. 

2. Setting up the piece

    On the prepared substrate or in the cardboard, insert the prop.

OUR TIP: lift the item up so that the bottom edge does not stick to the substrate – you can use any small object for this (which you do not care about strongly – it will be destroyed) such as a piece of board or a smaller box. It is important that the object is smaller than the base of the prop – you can easily reach the paint in hard-to-reach places such as the edges of the base. 

     Pay attention to whether you have sufficient access from each side of the painted product. While painting, it will be hard for you to move the object without damaging the fresh paint. 

3. Paint

      We recommend spray painting. Do you have a spray gun? Great, you certainly know what to do! But most of us don’t have a full workshop and luckily, in our situation, we don’t have to! All you need is spray paint. It’s cheap, readily available and in a huge range of colors. You can get it at any home improvement store. It doesn’t matter the company or the base (water or alcohol) – any will do, water ones smell less intense 🙂

OUR TIP: We like working on Montana 94 the most, and in our store after you make a purchase you will get a discount to use in their online and stationary store.

4. First painting

     Our base is prepared for color – you can act right away. Shake the can well for about one minute so that the pigment inside breaks down well and… paint! Start with the edges, then the fronts. Some colors require two coats for full coverage. Read the manufacturer’s recommendations for how long it takes to dry completely.

OUR TIP: It will be safe to prepare 24 hours for drying. Metallic colors usually need twice that time – otherwise they may stick 🙂 

5. Repainting

     First painting behind you? Great, you already know what it’s all about! 

     Each subsequent painting looks similar. The only difference is the preparation of the prop for the color change. Ideally, you should sand the piece by hand to matte the surface. This will even out the texture for us and increase the adhesion of the paint. Use 120-220 grit sandpaper for this, but you can go for the elements and skip this step 🙂 

     Each color is another layer of paint, so we recommend every tenth painting to wipe off the accumulated layers with sandpaper of a lower gradation (80), and then finish with a higher one (120). This way the cubes will not lose their shapes so quickly and will look better in the lens 🙂 

6. Take care of your tools to enjoy them longer!

     When you’re done painting, turn the can 180 degrees and spray out the remaining paint until only air escapes. This prevents the dried paint from clogging up the tip, so it will serve you much longer.

OUR TIP: Sometimes it happens that for various reasons the tip gets damaged – fortunately, you can buy them separately! It’s a good idea to have a few in stock – but beware: there are many types, so choose the one that will be most useful to you (with a wide tip).

If you feel that you still need help – write to us. We respond quickly and will be very happy to help you with any doubts > hello@propsformy.art