Spray Painting the Town: Upcycled Patio Planters

Spray paint might be one of my favorite tools for affordably breathing new life into old furniture and household items.  I have used it to restyle many a basket, wreath, vase, and dresser or end table into something new and fabulous.  It's easy to use and cheap, it looks great on so many surfaces, and you can do so much with it.  Infact, just this week, I watched my neighbor spray painting the white metal awnings of his all-white house to a deep green.  It instantly added so much charm.  I probably won't be painting my awnings any time soon, but I do appreciate his creativity.

These two plastic planters that held large store bought mums last fall recently received a makeover to turn them into cheerful spring planters for my patio.  With some left over paint from a previous project and a few minutes I took these pots from trash pile to re-styled.

These plastic pots have been washed and are drying in the afternoon sun awaiting their makeover

First wash out your pot, making sure to get any dirt or stickers may have been attached. Some people suggest washing pots that previously held plants with bleach so that you start with a sterile surface when planting new needs or plants.  I washed these pots and placed them on the patio in the afternoon sun to dry.

When your clean pots are dry set them on a level surface away from anything that could be damaged by paint.  I always try to do my spray painting projects outside.  There is the spot where they dogs have flattened the grass, so I don’t might if it gets a little paint on it.  You can also lay out a tarp or newspaper to protect the ground before you start painting. The best time to spray paint is when there is just a slight breeze.  If it is too windy, dust or leaves may blow on your wet paint, and you may lose a lot of your paint coming out of the can.  But a slight breeze can help ventilate the area.

I set my pots upside down and spray the outside first. Don’t spray the bottom, unless you are willing to wait a while to ensure it is dry before flipping the pot over.  Spray your pots with small even circular motions so being careful to not get to much paint on any one spot, or it will drip, and to ensure an even coat.  You may need to do two coats depending on your paint.  Once it looks even, let it dry.

Turn the pot over, and apply a coat of paint to the inside, focusing mostly on the top half of the pot. Remember, you are going to fill this with dirt, so you really don’t need to paint it all the way to the bottom, but you can if you want to.  I usually focus my paint on the areas that will be visible.

While one pot dries you and paint the other, and about the time you finish the second the first will be dry

Again, let the planters dry.  One of the nice things about spray paint is that it dries really fast, so this whole project including waiting for the pots to dry three times takes me less than an hour.

I usually let them fully air out for a few days before I plant anything in my pots. 

Can't wait to plant! These pots already brighten up my patio.

For this project I used Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover spray paint in Brilliant Blue (Gloss finish) and Eden (Satin finish) I like it because it covers evenly in about one coat and with one can of paint I have been able to cover about three pots and one large wicker basket.  Because it sprays two coats at once, it works great for projects where you want solid color blocks.  For projects where you want to blend colors, I have had a lot of success with Krylon Indoor/Outdoor.

Are you excited and about to take a boring pot and make it awesome?!  I want to hear about it.

What items do you have in your house or garage that could be given a new life through a simple coat of paint?