How to Paint a Race Car Room
Children have long been fascinated by racing cars, a fact underscored by the popularity of movies like Pixar's "Cars." It's a sport with an appeal that stretches across gender lines: a recent study by Scarborough Research showed that more than 38 percent of all NASCAR fans are females, much higher than the average for other major professional sports. So it's probably not surprising that boys and girls are thinking about race cars when it comes time to help design their room. Items such as race car shaped beds and checkered flag blankets set the scene, but painting the room can take it to the finish line. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- 2 to 3 cans of latex paint in primary color
- 1 to 2 cans of latex paint in each secondary color
- Paint rollers
- Paint brushes
- Thick cardboard
- Image of race car (from newspaper, magazine or online)
- Scissors
Instructions
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Prep work
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1
Buy paints that match the paint scheme of your child's favorite race car. Take note of the car's primary and secondary colors. Use the photos of the race car to help match the color of the paints.
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2
Cut out a picture of a race car on place it onto a piece of thick cardboard. Trace the image, and then cut it out to create a stencil.
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3
Apply at least one coat of the primary color to all walls of the room (more than one is recommended). Use the secondary colors to provide accent to the main color. One option is to paint the top or bottom 18 inches of the wall with a trim of the secondary color. Another is to make a thick series of "racing stripes" with the secondary color. Use the car design as a guide to what style of painting to do.
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4
Wait several hours for the paint to dry before applying additional coats of paint.
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5
Use the stencils to paint race cars on the walls in one or more of the secondary colors. These can be lined up in a row, spread out along the wall (as if racing around the room) or done randomly throughout the wall.
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Tips & Warnings
Experts at home improvement stores can provide you with advice on finding the paint scheme to match your child's favorite car. As of October 2009, Home Depot offered an exclusive line of paints designed to match the paint schemes of popular NASCAR drivers.
