Creating Complex Spraypaint Stencils by Hand

Step 6 Paint it

Painting your stencils in the comfort of your home or studio is the final step for some artists, and just a test-run for others. The first thing you need to do is choose a paint and a medium to paint on. What you paint on is up to you, but like any other paint aerosol paints stick best to primed, flat surfaces. Some people really like gesso-coated canvas, of the sort an oil painter would use. I'm partial to wooden boards. As for the paint you have quite a few options. The most common hardware-store paint in the U.S. is Krylon. It works, to be sure, but is relatively watery (it has a very thin consistency), which can be problematic. It also suffers from an unusual problem in which certain colors will crack as they dry when laid on top of certain other colors. I've never been able to figure out exactly what combinations are incompatible, so I suggest that if you're doing a multi-layer piece you should test your colors for this phenomena. Discount store paint brands tend to suffer from low concentrations of pigment, meaning you need to use a lot of paint, which can lead to drips. If you're very serious about your stencils, hardware store paint is not your only option. You might consider brands such as Belton Molotow or Montana Cans, both European brands specifically designed for art purposes. They are available in art supply stores of via mail order, so Google around. Though costly the paint is so much thicker that you use much less, making them probably much more economical then hardware store paint in the long run.

If you are stenciling inside you have a completely different option for paint: an airbrush. While you might not think to use an airbrush for stenciling, the control is superb, allowing for extremely detailed work. The other important advantage to an airbrush is that you can use any manner of paint you want (as long as it can be thinned to the consistency of milk), allowing you to mix your own colors to get exactly the hue you want. Finally, airbrushes use air as a propellant in lieu of chemicals, which makes the paint far, far safer and less noxious to work with. If you use a non-toxic paint you have a completely environmentally sound and healthy way to stencil. This can be important if you're working in an inclosed space. Airbrushes will also allow you to aerosolize a fabric dye, so you can make nice t-shirts of your stencil designs.

When painting a stencil, you apply the paint as you would with anything else. The goal is to get even paint coverage, so you're applying the same amount of paint to every bit of the piece. This helps avoid drips. You want to paint with short, even strokes, about 18" from the piece. Don't follow a zip-zag path or try to "trace" the pattern of the stencil, instead apply short strokes in one direction. This is so you never turn back on yourself and hit the same spot twice, because when you turn back on your path with the can or airbrush, you apply twice the paint in that one spot whrre you doubled-back. Be sure to keep the spray at as close to a 90-degree angle to the work as possible. This helps hold then stencil down (preventing overspray). You also want to keep the can as upright as possible, which keeps a nice, consistent flow of paint. About 45 degrees is good enough. You may want to incline your work surface if you're working inside so that you're not forced to hold the can horizontally.

When painting, you want to keep the stencils in contact with the surface, or as close as possible, and anchored firmly in place. Some people like using a removable spray adhesive for this, such as 3M Photomount, but I find masking tape along the outer edge to be equally effective and much less messy. When working inside, I keep a jar of pennies around. By placing little stacks of pennies on the stencils sheet I can anchor it down very effectively. Working outside little loops of masking tape can be a big help if the stencil is too big to secure with one hand. If you're inside and have the luxury of doing so, be sure to let your stencil dry fully before lifting the stencil, otherwise you risk smearing paint at the edge. Try your best to pull the plate straight up instead of dragging it across the surface to avoid this. You should give your piece at least 90 seconds of drying time before applying the next color. If you're inside and have the luxury of time, give it a full 10 minutes.

Comments

[Metalman000]

The reason that the paint cracks is you're not waiting long enough before you add different layers wait until the paint is totally dry before spraying the next layer. Either that or get good paint!

[Metalman000]

I use metal nuts ( the things that screw onto bolts) to width down my work. They are much smaller yet denser so you don't need as much. Plus your not ruining money!

[donsknotts]

im guessing the cracking is due to the "certain" colors' ability to absorb heat from light, but then again i have yet to stencil...

[biofueljunke]

no, its that krylon is just the cheapest manufactured paint on earth just use rustoleum flat black or even quick color flat black its 97 cents a can and is decent

[jamesmonster]

you can buy oil board usually on ebay which works the best for cutting out stencils as well as multiple use stencils because its simple designed for that purpose. also 3m makes a spray adhesive thats awesome for sticking it to walls, just a light spray before each stencil. theres a company called marsh who make "stencil ink" which is basically spray paint that dries quick as shit.