Published on: January 6, 2022
Written by Eric Devin / Fact-checked by David Rowan

Painting either a large surface or a small workpiece, interior or exterior is no longer a difficult job in today’s world as a number of good quality spray paints and painting kits are available in the market or the paint shops.

how to get a smooth finish with spray paint

Spray paint ranked a top for its easy application and is always preferred by the professional painters or DIYers. Painting with the spray paint produces such a super-smooth texture on your application that creates an illustrious look and turns the whole atmosphere into a classic one.

But if you are an amateur or DIYer, you need to be a little skilled in order to achieve a professional painting result. Therefore, you must have to consider some key aspects related to spray paint before commencing your project.

As getting a smooth finish with spray paint is linked to the number of factors, let’s talk about those factors to comprehend how they actually influence the smooth painting outcome.

Here’re tips for the most efficient way to spray paint to help get a smooth, seamless finish to work on a painting project! So follow the ways & get the spray you need.

However, this article is designed to find the answer to the question as to how to get a smooth finish with spray paint outlining all contributing factors.

Organize Painting Kits

It’s not a deniable fact that getting organized with necessary supplies before commencing any project would certainly help prepare well and accomplish a project with an anticipated outcome.

Therefore, organize your kits with the materials for your painting project including quality spray paint, sprayer, paintbrush, drop cloths, primer, pieces of sandpaper, Personal Protection Equipment like gloves, mask, disposable suit, respirator, goggles etc. Wear all Personal Protection Equipment to be protected from workplace hazards and injuries.

Prepare Project Surface

Before painting, preparing the project surface or the workpiece is extremely essential to have a great finish with spray paint. There might be old paints, stuck wallpapers, greasy spots, cracks, holes etc. on the project surface. Before commencing your painting, you must check out those problems and eliminate them to get your workpiece ready for painting.

To do this, first clean the project surface and remove all dirt by dusting. Remove the greasy substance and flaky paints with the sugar soap and water. Repair all cracks, scratches, holes etc. with a quality putty to fill the gap and make the project surface even before painting. In case of hard old paints, sand the spots with a fresh piece of sandpaper to remove them. After completing the cleaning task, wipe them off with a clean towel and leave them to dry off completely.

Prepare Spray Paint

Before preparing spray paint, read the user’s instruction manual carefully provided with your spray paint box. Prepare the paints as recommended to maintain its proper consistency for smooth painting.

Most paints usually are dense in nature which need to be diluted with water or thinner to have running consistency so as to produce an uninterrupted painting performance.

If the required consistency is missing, your paint may get stuck inside the sprayer leading to an interrupted painting or poor painting performance which could end up with undesirable outcome of your painting project.

Fill Paint Sprayer

It’s strongly recommended to properly fill your paint sprayer to have a smooth finish on your application. If you intend to utilize your old leftover paint, sieve the paint properly to remove lumps. Lumps always tend to block the sprayer’s paint and cause sudden splash leading to painting tasks entirely spoiled.

Trial Before Commencing Main Painting

It’s extremely important to ensure your paint sprayer functions perfectly and is able to produce an excellent painting result. Make sure no obstruction or abnormality is noticed during the trial. If you notice any such obstruction, recheck the patient’s consistency and dilute it with water or thinner as recommended to have the right texture.

Start Painting Project Surface

After a successful trial, you can proceed to paint your main project surface. Start painting from one corner to another in a horizontal motion. It’s strongly recommended to keep your nozzle about 12 inches away from the painting surface while spraying to avoid any undesirable incidence. After the first round of coat, allow it to dry off reasonably.

Another aspect to take into account is keeping your sprayer in low pressure at the beginning and increasing the pressure steadily to have the right level of pressure essential for smooth painting. Else, too much pressure at initial stage could cause paint’s splatter on your project surface and could even be detrimental for your project.

Clean Nozzle if Detected Any Clog While Painting

In the midst of the painting, you may notice any abnormality or clog in the nozzle which is a very common drawback of spray paint. In such a situation, you have to stop painting and clean the nozzle again with water and wipe off with a clean towel before coating further.

After cleaning, it’s good to go again through the trial method as previously done to ensure your sprayer functions properly. Read more: 6 Best Paint Sprayers for Trim and Doors

Apply the Second Coat of Painting

After the first coat of paint, you can proceed for the second coat. However, you have to allow around twenty minutes for the first coat to dry off. It would help avoid any flaws on your painted surface.

Then apply the second coat like the previous method to have a smooth finish on the painted surface. Once the smooth painting result is achieved, allow the painted surface to dry off entirely.

To achieve a smoother finish, you may even need to slightly sand over the dried off painted surface with the fine grit sanding paper or sanding block. After reasonable sanding, paint the surface again to have a flawless smooth touch on your workpiece.

Painting the Objects

To paint the multiple sides of an object, you always have to flip it over and place the object on the ground or surface keeping the unpainted side upward for painting. Then follow the same painting method previously applied to paint the rest of the unpainted sides.

Take care while placing the object on the ground to avoid any grimy on your object. Thus you have to complete the painting on every side of the object one after another to achieve an even look on all sides.

Concluding Remarks

I hope that you have already accepted the fact that spray painting is the easiest way to have a smooth finish compared to traditional ones. You have also realized how some basic factors immensely influence the painting quality linked to the smooth finish.

If you strictly adhere to painting technique while dealing with the spray paint, it would produce a super-smooth texture to your project surface. Try to be particular while purchasing spray paints and paint kits to achieve a professional grade performance.

Maintain safety protocol while dealing with the spray paint to avoid workplace hazards and injuries. Also keep it in mind that even a small amount of fumes and paint’s particle may cause severe skin irritation and respiratory problems.

We are always there to hear from you. If you have any feedback and queries, please contact us to have necessary consultation to accomplish your project more professionally. We would appreciate it if you could share this article with your family and friends. It would help us reach out to more people and offer our excellent client service.

How to Get a Smooth Finish With Spray Paint