How to: recycle with PlastiKote spray paint

7th January 20207th January 2020 SPIadmin

If you’ve vowed to create less waste this year but are itching to change your décor now that all the Christmas bits have been put away, use PlastiKote spray paint to recycle and revamp what you already have and give your home a whole new look. Spray paint a table, chair, chest of drawer, vase, lamp, frame – the list is endless.

This little chest of drawers had seen better days when it was picked up at a local charity shop for a few pounds around six years ago. It was a solid piece of furniture but not very attractive. Given a makeover using Twist & Spray paint in pretty pastels, it was used in a girl’s bedroom. A couple of years later, a more sophisticated look was requested and out came Chalk spray paint in Cappuccino, Dark Hessian, Old Hessian, Pale Rose and Vintage White. More recently, the chest of drawers has been moved to a different room and is now a stand-out piece having been sprayed in Dusty Coral, again from the Twist & Spray range.

Here’s how to do it:

Prepare your spraying area with dust sheets, newspaper or cardboard. Set up in a well-ventilated room or preferably outside on a warm, calm day.
Lightly sand to remove any flakes of paint or varnish and wash with warm, soapy water to get rid of any dirt, dust or grease. Allow to dry.
For any bare wood surface, always use primer. PlastiKote Twist & Spray Primer is ideal. If your item has already been spray painted with PlastiKote, you can just put your new colour over the top but if you want to ‘kill’ the existing colour, ie if it is dark and you’re going light, or you’re not sure what paint or varnish was previously use, priming will give you a good base to start on. Priming also gives added durability.
Once primed, follow instructions on the can of your PlastiKote spray paint to apply your colour coat.
Allow to thoroughly dry. With high usage items, it is recommended to let the paint ‘cure’ for a good 48-72 hours before putting in to use.

Here are a few more upcycled items that might give you some ideas for your own projects:

This stool and cabinet have both had a Chalk makeover, the stool in Pastel Green and the cabinet in Pale Rose.

The nest of tables was rescued from a trip to the tip with a colourful makeover using Twist & Spray in Pink Burst, Smoke Infusion and Yellow gloss spray paints. Patterned wrapping paper was used under the glass tops to add interest. The dining chair was sprayed with Daffodil Satin. PlastiKote Twist & Spray is a great all-rounder, quick and easy to use and can be applied to most surfaces.

These are simple makeovers which hopefully have inspired you to have a go. We’d love to see your recycled projects – share with us on Facebook or Instagram#plastikoteuk.

If you’re unsure about using spray paint, watch our vlogs for tips on spray painting and inspirational projects (look on the right-hand panel for the vlog category).

For more inspiration, check out our YouTube or Pinterest page.

Vlog: upcycle furniture with PlastiKote spray paint

7th January 2020 SPIadmin

A mismatched chair and lamp stand get a makeover with PlastiKote spray paint. Francesca uses Antique White Chalk spray paint to give the two pieces a cohesive look.

For inspiration on using PlastiKote spray paints and more ‘how to’ vlogs, subscribe to our YouTube channel here.

WIN: a £50 Ikea gift voucher with PlastiKote spray paint

7th January 20207th January 2020 SPIadmin

Start the year as you mean to go on – recycle, revamp and reuse! PlastiKote spray paint is the perfect paint to makeover unloved furniture and accessories quickly and easily. In this month’s blog, you’ll find step by step instructions on how to recycle tables, chairs and a chest of drawers but the possibilities are endless.

We had a plain wooden step stool that is now on its third incarnation! From bare wood, we masked off the bottom two thirds and sprayed the top White Satin from our Twist & Spray paint range to use as a bedside table in a guest room. A year or so down the line, it was re-purposed as a useful surface in the bathroom adding a pop of colour with Orange Gloss. When the décor changed in the bathroom, the step stool was sprayed with Mediterranean Blue Gloss to be used as, well, steps!

To win a £50 gift voucher to spend in Ikea, enter our competition. Tell us which of our step stool projects you like best – Bathroom, Guest Room or Steps. Email your answer together with your name, address and phone number to competition@spraypaintideas.co.uk and put JAN COMP as the subject. We’ll pick one lucky winner at random after the closing date of 29th February. Good luck!

Entrants’ email addresses are added to our database to receive our monthly newsletter. If you wish to enter our competition but do not want to receive the monthly newsletter, please state NO MARKETING in your email.

Thank you to everyone who entered our November competition. Congratulations to Jo from Peterborough Blackpool whose chose Chrome as her favourite metallic finish. An Etsy gift card worth £50 is on its way.

For terms and conditions for the January competition, click here.

Want to know more about PlastiKote spray paint? Visit our website here for more information about the product or pop over to our Pinterest page for lots of inspirational projects.

Reader project: a creative Christmas with PlastiKote spray paint

3rd December 20194th December 2019 SPIadmin

We’ve had great fun – and been inspired – looking at the creative ideas that our Instagram followers have come up with for Christmas using PlastiKote spray paint. We thought we’d share a couple of our favourites here on our blog.

Let’s start with Anna @makinghomematter. She says:

“I am currently fixing up our home with a rustic farmhouse style and I share all my home decor and DIY inspiration. My aim is to inspire people to make a house a home on a budget which involves lots of fun, creative projects.

I made these from reclaimed wood and finished with Vintage White Chalk spray paint. These houses make up a winter village on my open shelving in the kitchen.

I always look out for unique pieces in charity shops that I could put my own stamp on. Originally red, this candelabra was a great find and the spray paint covered in one coat.

I spray painted three bottles white, distressed one with fine sandpaper and printed letters on the others.

I found a very cheap decoration in silver, took it to pieces, spray painted the bells and added cord to create single white baubles for my white and copper themed Christmas tree. The wicker star was another charity shop find.”

We love the rustic look of all Anna’s projects. Using PlastiKote Chalk Vintage White paint has allowed her to achieve that lovely ultra matt finish.

Sian, who can be found on Instagram at insideno.46, lives with her partner and two children. She says:

“I am always looking for ways to improve our home decor, whether this is buying new furniture or making little discoveries at a car boot sale. On my Instagram page, there are lots of posts showing the transformation of items I’ve either already owned or I’ve bought secondhand that have not matched my colour scheme – I’ve been able to do this using PlastiKote spray paint.

My most recent festive upcycle has been two candle stick holders that were purchased at a car boot fair. Originally, the candle sticks were a dark wooden colour but with just two coats of paint, they are now bright white. I have added these into a garland on my mantlepiece.

I’ve been looking for a tree topper but was unable to find one I liked. I found some Halloween twigs on sale and had the idea to use these and some of my spare baubles to make my own. The twigs were a natural brown colour and the baubles were red but both finished really well with a couple coats of PlastiKote and now that they’re dry, they have made the perfect addition to the tree.”

Sian’s mantlepiece in classic white and silver looks very pretty but we love her wacky family Christmas tree. Bet her children love it too!

We featured Mrs_Roobottom_Home from Instagram in our September blog and she had already started on her Christmas decorations. In case you missed it, here’s her pretty pine cone dec.

christmas dec

The satin bow adds that je ne sais quoi to a simple sprayed cone!

If you have spray paint projects you’d like to share with us, email info@spraypaintideas.co.uk. If we feature them on our blog, we’ll send you some spray paints as a thank you.

For more information and inspiration from PlastiKote, follow us on Instagram here.

Mini makes: last minute decs with PlastiKote spray paint

3rd December 2019 SPIadmin

There’s so much to do in the run up to Christmas that time seems to run away and before long, the big day is looming. You may think you don’t have time to add some homemade touches to your Christmas display but with a can of PlastiKote spray paint, you can quickly and easily make place names and last-minute decorations.

Simple place names can be made using a can of PlastiKote Fast Dry Enamel spray paint in a metallic or colour of your choice – spray apples, pears or cones and add a handwritten tag.

If you prefer a more subtle look, a single ivy leaf sprayed white with a luggage label attached looks super stylish. Or, for a bit of bling, this copper-sprayed sycamore leaf looks fab on a plain white plate. Just use a marker to write the name on.

A good excuse for a pre-Christmas tipple! Spray clean, empty bottles with Metallics or festive colours – use as vases for fresh foliage or do as we have and spray dried seed heads to fill them.

Fruit and nuts look stunning when sprayed with a metallic colour – Gold Leaf was used for this collection. Displayed in a glass bowl, they make a lovely centrepiece – just don’t try eating them!

Candlesticks are a staple of any Christmas decoration and a mismatched selection like these can be brought together as a cohesive group with a coat of PlastiKote spray paint in a colour to match your theme. Gloss White and Brushed Nickel were used here.

All of these projects can be achieved in less than an hour, so no excuses! Enjoy being creative and add your own homemade decs to this year’s display.

Our top tip for this time of year is to make sure the ambient temperature is over 10 degrees. Spray paint doesn’t like the cold!

If you’ve used spray paint to update your Christmas decs this year or to make new ones, we’d love to see them. Tag us #plastikoteuk on Instagram @plastikoteuk

For product information, visit the website www.plastikote.co.uk.

PlastiKote Christmas 7 - Fast Dry Enamel Flat White or Twist & Spray White Matt

How to: dream of a White Christmas with PlastiKote spray paint

5th November 2019 SPIadmin

Reuse and recycle for an eco-friendly Christmas this year with a little help from PlastiKote spray paints.

Christmas is traditionally a time of excess and we all love to buy an extra decoration or two to add to our collection but to avoid spending out on more plastic ornaments, we’ve come up with a few ideas for making your own decorations on a limited budget and as environmentally-friendly as possible.

Use PlastiKote Chalk spray paint in Vintage White to create a White Christmas theme to your decorations. Chalk spray paint is water-based with 90% less solvents than conventional spray paint and therefore much kinder to the environment. So, go for a brisk walk in the countryside to collect pine cones, leaves, ivy, twigs and you’ll be set to create your own winter wonderland.

Create a mini Christmas tree using either a potted tree or twigs.

If you buy a growing tree and it’s in a plastic pot, spray the pot as well. Put a black sack over the tree and tuck in around the trunk while you spray the pot. Whilst the pot is drying, spray lengths of ivy, building the colour in fine layers. When both are dry, remove the black sack and drape the ivy around the tree. Add a string of fairy lights for a bit of sparkle.

Equally easy to do is our twig tree decorated with sprayed pine cones. Screw small metal eyelets into the top of the cones to hang them. If you want a more natural look, lightly spritz the cones and twigs with white Chalk paint to give the effect of a light dusting of snow.

This pine cone wreath is quick and easy to make. Take an old willow wreath and spray paint with Chalk in Vintage White along with a selection of pine cones. Several layers of white have been applied to give this wreath a solid white colour but if you want a snow-dusted look, a light spritz will do. The thin, long cones were given a light coat of Fast Dry Enamel in Gold Leaf as a contrast to the white. When everything is thoroughly dry, use a hot glue gun to stick the cones to the wreath.

Large leaves make great place settings when sprayed. Either add a tag as shown or use a marker to write on the leaf.

One final thought regarding an eco-friendly Christmas…

There has been much discussion in recent years around having a real or artificial Christmas tree in the home. An artificial tree can be brought out year after year, making them a budget friendly option and saving a real tree from being chopped down. The over-riding argument AGAINST an artificial tree is very basic: they are made of plastic – usually from PVC, a plastic which is notoriously difficult to recycle because it requires specialist equipment. However, circumstance or, indeed preference, may mean you have an artificial tree. The advice if you do have one is to keep using it as long as possible. If it’s starting to look bedraggled or you want to change your Christmas colour scheme, spray paint it to ring the changes. This gold tree didn’t look right in its new home, so a couple of coats of PlastiKote Super spray paint in Black gave it a fab new look and it’s seen several Christmases since.

These are very easy ideas which hopefully have inspired you to have a go. We’d love to see your Christmas spray-painted makes – share your projects with us on Facebook or Instagram#plastikoteuk.

If you’re unsure about using spray paint, watch our vlogs for tips on spray painting and inspirational projects (look on the right-hand panel for the vlog category).

For more inspiration, check out our YouTube or Pinterest page.

Christmas baskets with PlastiKote spray paint

5th November 2019 SPIadmin

For a fabulous alternative Christmas stocking or some stylish Christmas storage, watch Francesca show you how easy it is to make these fun festive baskets using PlastiKote spray paints.

For inspiration on using PlastiKote spray paints and more ‘how to’ vlogs, subscribe to our YouTube channel here.

WIN: £50 Etsy gift voucher with PlastiKote spray paint

5th November 20195th November 2019 SPIadmin 5 Comments

Any time of year is perfect for getting creative with PlastiKote spray paint but Christmastime especially so. Forget garlands of plastic tinsel and shop-bought decorations – make your own with cones, leaves, twigs and fruit and a spritz of Metallic spray paint.

From place names to wreaths, there’s a whole host of decorations that can be made without breaking the bank. A can of Fast Dry Enamel in Gold Leaf, Chrome, Antique Gold, Rose Gold or Copper can be bought for around £4 and goes a long way. It’s quick and easy too!

Our top three Metallics from the Fast Dry Enamel range are Copper, Chrome and Gold Leaf. Which is your favourite?

comp - fave metallic

Like to win a £50 gift voucher to spend on Etsy? Then enter our competition. Tell us your favourite Metallic – A Copper, B Chrome or C Gold Leaf – by emailing your answer together with your name, address and phone number to competition@spraypaintideas.co.uk and put NOV COMP as the subject. We’ll pick one lucky winner at random after the closing date of 31st December. Good luck!

Thank you to everyone who entered our September competition. Congratulations to Adrian from Blackpool who chose the wicker armchair sprayed in Black Plum as his favourite autumnal makeover. An Ikea gift card worth £50 is on its way.

For terms and conditions for the November competition, click here.

Want to know more about PlastiKote spray paint? Visit our website here for more information about the product or pop over to our Pinterest page for lots of inspirational projects.

Mini make: affordable autumn decs with PlastiKote spray paint

2nd October 201921st October 2019 SPIadmin

As a new season arrives, lifestyle magazines and blogs invite us to change our interiors to complement the time of year. If you’re looking for an affordable way to add some autumnal accents to your home, look no further than a pile of dried leaves and PlastiKote spray paint!

A metallic accent lifts any colour scheme and PlastiKote Fast Dry Enamel comes in Gold Leaf, Copper, Antique Gold, Silver (Chrome), Rose Gold and Brass. Available in 100ml cans, a little goes a long way and using (free) leaves means you won’t break the bank updating your decor.

Mini make 5

So, go for a brisk country walk and collect your leaves. We particularly like the large sycamore leaves. Dry them between a couple of heavy books to get them to lie flat. When ready to spray, prepare your spraying area with cardboard or newspaper and make sure the room is well-ventilated. Spray with your chosen metallic, using fine mists of paint to build the colour. These two images show the depth of colour and shine that is achieved with PlastiKote Metallic spray paints.

Mini make 1

The leaves can be used in all sorts of ways. Welcome your visitors with an autumnal wreath. Using Gold Leaf, Copper and Antique Gold, spray 6 large leaves and allow to dry. When thoroughly dry, hot glue to an old wicker wreath. Not just for Autumn, this could be used at Christmas too.

Mini make 6

Cascading sprayed leaves blu-tacked to a wall make an appealing display or they could be hung from a small branch to make a mobile of hanging leaves.

Mini make 4

A colourful garland using Copper and Orange Gloss is a cheerful addition to the home. Our top tip for attaching the leaves to the twine is to cut 15mm lengths of drinking straw and hot gluing to the back of each leaf. Then simply thread on to the twine.

Mini make 3

Looking for a quick and easy Halloween decoration? Use Fast Dry Enamel in White to spray some dried sycamore leaves and allow to dry. Their shape really lends itself to being transformed into spooky ghosts! Draw on a couple of black eyes and use washi tape to stick them on the window.

Mini make 2

Finally, what about place names? Perfect for any time of the year – great for Christmas! – choose large leaves to spray and, when dry, write on your guests’ names.

If you’ve used sprayed leaves for decoration, we’d love to see them. Tag us #plastikoteuk on Instagram @plastikoteuk

For product information, visit the website www.plastikote.co.uk.

WIN: a £50 Ikea gift card with PlastiKote spray paints

2nd October 20192nd October 2019 SPIadmin 43 Comments

Autumn is upon us, with shorter days and cooler weather. Ring the changes by taking a can of PlastiKote spray paint and giving your accessories a refresh or a new colour. Spray a photo frame a bright colour or give an old ornament a metallic makeover. It’s quick and easy to do, and won’t break the bank.

Why stop there? A table or chair sprayed in a strong colour will add a new focal point to your room. Revamp an old piece you already have or take a trip to the local tip – someone else’s trash could be your treasure! A light sanding and clean with soapy water and you’re ready to go. Use Twist & Spray Primer, followed by your favourite Twist & Spray colour.

We did exactly that with these three pieces: A – a small side table sprayed Royal Blue, B – a wicker armchair sprayed Black Plum and C – a junk shop find sprayed in Hacienda Tile, Yellow and Orange Gloss.

comp - colourful furniture

To enter our competition, just tell us which is your favourite. Email your answer A, B or C together with your name, address and phone number to competition@spraypaintideas.co.uk and put SEPT COMP as the subject. We’ll pick one lucky winner at random after the closing date of 31st October. Good luck!

Thank you to everyone who entered our July competition. Congratulations to Hana from Hastings whose favourite Chalk project was the little vintage stool in Chalk Pastel Green. She has won a £50 Hobbycraft gift card which will be winging its way to her shortly.

winning pic

For terms and conditions for the September competition, click here.

Want to know more about PlastiKote spray paint? Visit our website here for more information about the product or pop over to our Pinterest page for lots of inspirational projects.