How to Paint Milk Cans
Recycle milk cans into decorative crafts for your home or garden. You can make wind chimes, luminaries, fence posts and a variety of other crafts with used milk cans. One of the ways to make milk cans more attractive for your craft projects is to paint them. Select a background color to coordinate with your decor and then decorate the cans to suit your project. For example, paint a decorative flowering vine around milk cans stacked to make a fence post or paint decorative bells on milk cans attached to wind chimes.
Things You'll Need
- Soap/water
- File/duct tape
- Light grade sandpaper
- Newspaper/plastic
- Metal spray paint
- Painter's tape
- Stencils
- Acrylic paints
- Stencil brush
Instructions
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1
Remove the advertising from the milk can. Clean the can inside and out with soap and water. Dry the milk can.
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2
File away any sharp edges on the inside rim of the milk can with a metal file. You can also cover the sharp edges with duct tape to make the cans safe for handling.
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3
Scuff the outside of the can with light grade sandpaper. Remove the sanding debris. Most metal spray paints will adhere to the milk can without this step, but it's still a good idea to remove any glue residue from the advertising.
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4
Cover a painting work surface with newspaper or plastic. Place the milk cans on the protective cover. You can protect the surrounding area by placing the milk cans inside a cardboard box that's turned on its side.
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5
Spray the outside of the cans with a thin layer of metal spray paint. Use smooth side-to-side motions to apply the spray paint. Overlap each pass by one-third. Allow the paint to dry completely. Apply a second or third coat of thin spray paint as needed. Let the paint dry.
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Tape a stencil onto the outside of the painted milk can with painter's tape. Swirl acrylic paint into the stencil cutouts. Stencil brushes are designed specifically for stencils with thick, blunt ends. You can also use an artist's brush to decorate the milk cans.
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