- Find a sprayer designed for applying paint over a stencil, available at art supply and craft stores. Any other type of paint sprayer may apply too much pressure to the stenciled area and cause over-spray and less control on the results. If you choose to experiment with other types of sprayers, do it on a practice surface, such as an old piece of tile or some scrap wood.
- Spray painting stencils is faster than applying color with a brush. However, one potential problem with sprayers is pooling paint near the inside edges of the stencil. To prevent this, spray the backs of your stencils with adhesive or buy stencils that already have adhesive on them. When you spray adhesive on your stencils, lay out some newspaper, and place your stencils on them, face down. Don't spray them too heavily since built-up spots will create gaps and pooling paint.
- Choose your colors. Mix each paint color with water to create a milky consistency. Pour the mixture into the sprayer. Mask off areas you don't want to be painted. Thoroughly rinse out the sprayer jar and nozzle before using a new color. Fill the jar with water and run the water through the nozzle to make sure it's clean before starting with a new color.
- Press your stencil onto the wall. Make sure to press it firmly over the entire stencil surface. Begin a spraying motion before you're over your stencil, and continue moving from left to right in one single pass, only releasing the lever after you're off the stencil. Release the lever, and move onto the next section. Repeat this process until you've covered the areas with color and then allow it to dry. If you want deeper color, repeat these steps until you've achieved the color depth you want.
- Cans of spray paint are convenient since there's no mixing involved and they come in a multitude of colors. To avoid toxic fumes, choose acrylic paints, and select the right finish (gloss, semigloss or flat). Before you begin, open the windows, and thoroughly shake your can of spray paint for at least one minute. Apply your stencil to the wall as described above. Mask off all areas on the wall, and cover the carpet and furniture since spray paint mist will travel far. Practice on another surface, such as a piece of painted scrap wood, before applying the paint to your wall to get an idea of how much coverage you want. Use the same method with the spray can paint as described above, but hold the spray nozzle about ten inches from the surface.
