I recently purchased some paint to color a terracotta flower pot - also paint or decorate some small tin cans and jar lids (all personal items). I’ve never done this before but I thought it’d be fun to try. The paint I have is eco, non-toxic, water based, metal effect.
How do you clean your brushes after you paint?
It doesn’t look like the paint is acrylic, or should it be?
Just soak it in water with soap or not and rub it on surfaces to dislodge the paint.
I used to soak my brushes in a jam jar with hair conditioner after rinsing with water as it kept the bristles soft and dislodged stubborn paint.
Water based paint will wash off with water. I think you will need to prime the surface of the tins and lids or the paint won’t adhere, as terracotta is porous that shouldn’t need priming but a first coat of diluted paint might be good as it can adsorb a lot other wise.
I painted my garage door with acrylics and even that just washed off the brushes with warm water…and a little bit of washing up liquid…no problem at all…
You might need acrylic paint if you are painting items for outside and on my garage door I gave a coat of lacquer as well…(I got clear car lacquer from amazon…)…
When you have finished some of your items, don’t forget to come to the art chat thread and show us what you have done…we would love to see !!! xx
I see…you mean, a different type of paint should go first on the pot and then the paint I have?
Or dilute the one I have with water and try that as a first coat?
The items I will paint will be for indoors. Sure, I will post a photo when I finish!
For the terracotta you should be fine to dilute the paint you have for the first coat and then do a second coat with undiluted paint. For the metal items I think you will need a specific paint primer for metal which you would use first and then do a second coat with your water based eco paint.
And when I wash off the brushes they way you say, is it ok to pour that water down the drain?
First check if it says it’s biodegradable, with enough water running to dilute it, the paint can be washed down a drain safely.
There was an issue a couple of years ago with washing some types of paint down the drain …however after lots of tests it was agreed that people like us (not industrial usage) would not do any harm with washing the paint down the drain…with PLENTY of water to dilute it and wash it away.
I think the main problem was with Cadmium…(cadmium yellow and cadmium orange etc)…specific colours.
Hope that helps…
Thanks! It won’t be a lot of paint. I might even wipe some of it off with soft tissue first and the rest with lots of water.
I can’t find that information. I can only see that it is not based on metallic powders. It is VOC, oil and acid free and non toxic.
To clean your brushes after using eco-friendly, water-based paint, rinse them immediately under warm water, then use mild soap or brush cleaner to remove any remaining paint. Rinse thoroughly and repeat if needed until the water runs clear. Afterward, reshape the bristles and let the brushes air dry. As for the paint, it sounds like a metal-effect acrylic, but you can check the label for more details.