Painting Wall Letters and Die Cuts

[Angie]

If there is already a thread about either of these, I apologize. DH and I tried to paint wooden wall letters for DD's nursery and some paper die cuts tonight with acrylic paint and they both turned out AWFUL! We primered the wall letters first (a couple of days ago, so they were definitely dry), then used a sponge brush to paint on the acrylic paint. We did a second coat when the first one dried. The problem is that the letters now have these lines (brush strokes) all over them, the paint is not smooth. The die cut has the same issue but wasn't primered first.

So my question, how do I paint each one of those things? I think DH added some water to the acrylic paint to try to thin it out a bit hoping that would decrease the lines, could that be an issue?

TIA!

[mmm0708]

Hmmm - I don't know anything about acrylic paints. I put up wooden letters in my kids' rooms. We just used regular wall paint with a satin finish for my daughter's room. (My son's were stained) DH painted the edges with a brush and then used a small roller across the top, for that smooth finish.

[meganth]

Go back over them with a super fine sand paper and then apply another coat and sand lightly again.

[Ellyn]

If you are using the cheaper acrylics in the bottles (like for .99 at Walmart) they are probably too watery and will leave brush strokes.

We used spray paint for DS's and used tube acrylics for DD's. Both worked well. I agree with the sanding - try lightly sanding in between.

[Angie]

If you are using the cheaper acrylics in the bottles (like for .99 at Walmart) they are probably too watery and will leave brush strokes.


That's exactly what I tried using, that must be the problem!!!

When you used tube acrylics, did you just use foam brushes?

Thanks for all of the help, ladies!!

[Ellyn]

I teach art, so I still have my stash of good quality brushes that I used in college - I used a good quality smaller (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 inch) brush...and ended up with a nice, smooth finish, although it did take at least 2 coats, but I was lazy and didn't prime. :o

[Nonna]

A good quality paint brush or a small foam roller will take care of the brush strokes.

[Angie]

Thanks for the advice, ladies. We ended up using a foam roller and doing several very thin coats at the letters came out GREAT!