Planter project coming but first….
Hi friends! I hope everyone is loving their January by becoming super skinny, perfectly organized and keeping an obnoxiously clean house all while spending more time volunteering. No? Me neither. I, on the other hand, am enjoying January. We have lots of snow on the ground and I love it. It is bright and beautiful outside. I can’t really say I love the freezing temperatures that go with the snow, but it gives me a good reason to catch up on some indoor projects. So for today I thought I would share this little planter makeover that I recently did. I have this aqua green planter that is in great condition and just the right size for the plant it holds. The problem is, it doesn’t go with any of the other colors in the room. I decided the quickest way to fix that was to simply paint it. And paint it I did! What do you think? Want to know how? Okay here is what I did….
DIY Painted Planter Makeover
The Process…
- Prep the planter
- Spray paint the planter off white
- Set aside newly painted planter for 5-7 days to cure
- Tape off 2 Inch horizontal stripes
- Spray entire planter gold
- Allow paint to dry, peel back tape and all finished!
Now the long winded explanation…
Supplies
- Large Resin Planter
- Fine Steel Wool
- Gold Spray Paint
- Off White Spray Paint (Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch 2X Ultra Cover in Heirloom White)
- Cutting Mat
- Rotary Cutter and Ruler
- Painters Tape (I Only Use Frog Tape!)
- Crayola Washable Marker
- Tape Measure (Something Flexible)
- Large Mug of Coffee Laced Hot Cocoa (Optional but Delicious)
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A note on product. I prefer Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch 2X Ultra Cover spray paint. It has a primer in it and covers in less coats then cheap spray paint. It also adheres to surfaces well. As for painter’s tape, I hate when the paint bleeds under the tape! Once I started using frog tape I didn’t have that problem anymore. So for me I just always buy what I know works.[line]
Prep
I cleaned off any dirt from the outside and lightly went over the surface with some steel wool. This was just to give the paint it’s best chance of adhering to the surface.
Next, I spray painted the planter in an off white color.
Allow Paint to Cure
Once I had my planter sprayed, I let it dry for several days to give the paint a chance to cure. Keep in mind dry time and cure time are two different things. After paint dries it then takes time for it to really harden. Since my plan is to mask off stripes with painter’s tape I need the paint to be well cured otherwise I risk pulling the base coat paint off with the tape. It’s not worth rushing through this part only to have to start all over. Rule of thumb is, it takes about a week for spray paint to cure on plastic. Temperature and humidity can be a factor in dry and cure times. The back of the spray can will give you the exact product recommended dry and cure time.
Measuring and Marking Where to Mask Off the Stripes
For this part you will need a tape measure and Crayola washable marker.
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To mark where to the tape goes: I use a CRAYOLA WASHABLE MARKER. They are a school supply staple and can be easily found at the store or at the bottom of your child’s backpack.
Here is the thing, whether it is a wall or an object like a flower pot, pencil lines and chalk marks don’t always come completely off. The washable marker goes on dark so you can see where your mark is but when you are done it wipes off with water COMPLETELY. I cannot say enough about this little marker and that is coming from someone who has had to meticulously hand paint over pencil marks that were still showing many large wall projects after it was all said and done.[line]
Once the spray paint had a chance to cure, it was time to measure and mark where I would place my painters tape. Keep in mind the tape is going to cover what will be the white stripes. What is not taped will result in a gold stripe. If my planter was completely plain and without any decorative detail, I may have simply started at the top of the planter and made a mark every two inches going down since I want the stripes to all be 2 inches wide. But if you look at the planter I am using you see it has a decorative raised ridge that runs along the top half.
I decided it would look best if the ridge was directly in the center of a gold stripe. To ensure that the ridge falls directly in the middle of the gold stripe I used the ridge as my starting point. First I measured and found the center of the raised ridge. Because my stripes are 2 inches wide I measured and made a mark 1 inch up and 1 inch down from the center. Then from those marks I measured down or up every 2 inches. It should look something like the above picture. The dots will mark the top of your tape line and the lower dot is the bottom of your tape line. Continue making the vertical line of dots around the circumference of the pot.
Next Up: Taping[line]
If you have ever tried to tape a curved object like a lamp shade or in this case, a planter pot you likely know that tape doesn’t bend well because it likes to make a straight line. This is problematic when trying to tape around a curve. If you try to force the tape to conform to the curve it buckles and folds which defeats the point of using masking tape to create a clean line. To prevent this, you will need to cut your tape into long thin strips about a ¼ of an inch wide. It is easy to do with a ruler, rotary cutter and cutting mat. The thinner width will allow it to bend with a slight curve.[line]
At this point I got carried away and was forgetting to take photos so I went back and used this small silver bucket as an example. Using the dots you made as your guide, place a line of tape for the top of the stripe and a line of tape masking the bottom of your stripe. Once that is done you can fill in the middle with wider strips of tape. This should create a perfect 2-inch stripe going around the planter. Continue to do this till all the stripes are masked off.
Gold Paint
You now have your stripes masked off in tape and all that is left is to spray the unmasked areas gold. I also painted the inside of my pot.
After a few hours when my paint was completely dry I removed to tape and my planter was ready to go.
You may notice that my tape pattern left a nice thin gold stripe at the top of my planter and a thin stripe at the bottom. That sort of just worked out on its own. You will want to think about those little details when you are measuring and planning where to start your tape line.
DIY Painted Planter Makeover All Finished!
I hope this helps and makes sense. It really was very easy and I am so happy with how it turned out.
Much Love and Happy Creating,
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Claire Galloway says
SUPER helpful… I am just about to paint stripes onto a wooden lamb base and was wracking my brain trying to think how to tape sections off
Caroline says
Thank you so much, a very helpful post
Kathryn with Heaven is Smiling Above says
Wow! What an incredibly helpful post. Thank you for all the tips. Your attention to detail turned out a lovely planter.
Rachel McGee says
Oh I love this Jenny!!
Jennifer says
Awwww thank you Rachel. I was pretty happy to not the sore thumb planter in the corner screaming “look at me, I match nothing in this room!”
Vineta @ The Handyman's Daughter says
I have an outdoor pot that’s all the wrong colors for our new house, and have been debating whether to paint it or not. Thanks for the great tutorial on how to give it new life!
Jennifer says
Thank you Vineta. Good luck on your project 🙂
Mia says
I love the gold stripes and this looks easy enough for me to do! Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer says
Thanks Mia! It truly was easy and made a big difference. If you ever decide to try it and have any questions feel free to email me. ❤️Jenny
Laurie says
Jenny, Great job on the planter it is awesome and I love that tip with the thinner strips! Pinning to share! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing with us at Brag About It. Hope you will come share with us often!
~Laurie
Jennifer Kavanagh says
Thank you so much, I really appreciate the kind word Laurie.
-Jenny❤️