How To Spray paint: for the Impulsive and Impatient

For those of you who haven't picked up on the fact that I tend to be impulsive and impatient, let me tell you, spray paint and I have had a VERY rocky relationship!  I have sprayed, de-sprayed, and re-sprayed more times than I care to count. Therefore, I am sharing what I learned in simple terms for my other impatient and impulsive paintaholics!  I would have pics...but, well, I decided to write this on a whim.  See what I mean?

Step one:  WAIT until the temperature is right.  Read the directions on the can to see what temp it recommends and follow them!

Step two:  Clean what you intend to spray paint with mild soapy water, dry, and wipe down with some rubbing alcohol.  This gets the oil and dirt off so you get good adherence. If you need to sand anything, you want to do that before cleaning.

Step three:  If you can, spray outside, or at least in a well ventilated area.  Lay down a drop cloth under the to be painted item. This part is hard for us impatients, but you need to SHAKE the can...yes, for as long as the directions say.  Yes, for 1-2 minutes...DO IT!

Step three:  Sweep the can side to side as you spray a LIGHT layer.  Light layer!  As in so light you wonder if the paint will even ever sufficiently cover your piece.  Then stop and WAIT!  You want to wait at least an hour before even thinking about another coat. Again, read your directions for specific re-coat times...then walk away and forget about it.

Step four:  After you WAITED the allotted time, keep spraying light coats on until you achieve the coverage you desire...waiting the instructed drying time between each coat.

I appreciate that this sounds over simplified and kind of like a "duh" type thing to most....but sometimes us impulsive and impatient paintaholics need emphasis on the obvious.  HAPPY SPRAYING....