If you like to upcycle old furniture home decor items, chances are spray paint is one of your best friends. But if you are worried about solvents polluting your lungs and the air, it’s kind a necessary evil. But now Krylon has come up with a NEW water-based latex spray paint! I just had to try it out!
First, I’ll share some of the “bullet points” I found on the website:
- Protects against nicks and chips, indoors and out
- Contributes 55% less to smog pollution than most solvent-based spray paints
- Non-toxic; low odor; soap and water clean up
- Comes in 21 colors
- Dry to Touch: 15 minutes
- Dry to Handle: 1 hour (with our cold weather, it took longer than this)
- For use with: Wood, Metal, Wicker, Glass, Craft Foam, Plaster, Ceramic, Fabric, Paper, Paper Mache, Dried/Silk Flowers.
I decided to try out a number of surfaces that I use regularly in my crafting and home decor projects. First up: a wood-toned (plastic?) frame I had lying around. For this one, I didn’t prep the surface other than to give it a quick wipe. I’m not sure how most of you are, but I’m notorious for just grabbing the can of spray paint and giving it a go.
First coat, wet.
I noticed right away that this paint doesn’t have the smell that regular spray paint does- Krylong H20 paint smells more like the latex I use when I paint my walls. The odor is very light- and I worked outside, so it was hardly noticeable at all.
However, what I DID notice was the thinness of the paint. As I sprayed the frame, I noticed some bubbles (which I expected from the instructions on the can) and then it pooled and ran pretty quickly- much more quickly than traditional spray paint, I think.
One coat, dry. Transparent w/ puddling.
Then I tried a matte that was in that old frame. It had a slightly glossy texture, but it’s paper, right?
1 coat, wet.
One coat, dry- uneven coverange.
Here, too, I noticed some puddling and pooling.
By now, my hands were getting really messy, so I decided to to wash up. True to labeling, the paint washed right off. Oh, and the drips on the floor cleaned up easily, too!
Then I moved on to a gesso’ed paper mache letter. I thought that maybe the gesso would help the colors pop. But here, too, I saw paint pooling rather than covering well.
One coat- you can see some of the gesso peeking through.
Two coats covered perfectly. And the satin shine is really nice.
After putting a second coat of paint on my “D” monogram, I was very satisfied with the color and coverage. The second coat on the frame was OK, but it was just too glossy to stick. Yes, that means I’ll have to properly prep my surfaces- meaning a light sanding- in the future. Oh well… I guess I can’t be lazy with everything…like I was with this can…
ULTIMATE CRAFT FAIL. I obviously needed to sand and prime this waxy surface. Ooops!
Here’s a little niche that I tried…again, slightly glossy surface, and I got muddling and pooling.
One coat, dry- definate puddling.
Even with 2 coats, there is still mottling on the glossy cardstock.
Then I realized that this paint is a LOT like when I think down my craft paint….there’s a lot of water in the mix, diluting the pigment. More coats are needed for good coverage, unless your surface is extremely porous, like this unfinished birdhouse.
I have to say, I was really overjoyed with this sample! One coat, and the paint sunk right in, leaving a little of the wood grain exposed- kind of like a stain. The second coat made it go completely opaque and nary a brush stroke to be seen! I never want to paint unfinished wood with a brush again!
So, after playing with Krylon H20 spray paint, I’ve decided that I LOVE it for wood and paper mache- things I wouldn’t normally spray paint. (Yay! The chance to be really, really lazy!) For porous surfaces, it performs superbly.
For those glossy surfaces, it performs “OK” with proper prep, but expect to add at least one more coat than you are used to. And this is just my opinion, but when it comes to glass and metal and other slick surfaces, I’m going to stick with the old-fashioned, really toxic, use outside or with ventilation kind. Yes, it’s not so earth-friendly, but it’s a better paint for those jobs.
Krylon H20 paint is really reasonable at $4 per can, and is available at big box stores. That’s up just slightly from regular Krylon spray paints, which run 2-3 bucks. It’s just a small upcharge for the flexibility of water clean-up and almost no odor.
Overall, I think Krylon H20 will be a great addition to my studio- I’ll probably use it to spray paint some items that I usually wouldn’t- like silk flowers and paper mache. I’m also really happy that I can spray these items in my studio and not have to run outside, so I’ll use it more than I use regular spray paint.
That being said, I’ll still want my Decorator’s Enamel close at hand, too….just sayin’!
How about you? Have you used Krylon H20? Am I off-base? Let me know!
Samples were generously provided by Krylon for the purposes of review. Thank you!
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Can’t wait to give it a try! On bare wood, of course.
Thanks for this review. I’m looking for water-based spray paints to change the colours on my motorcycle helmet; those require water-based paints in order to not damage their plastic shells. Apparently I need to sand it first!
Looks great on the items you tried it on! Have you tried the clear on dried flowers? I was thinking about trying it on some flowers I dried for gifts. Love your website!