Spruce up your furniture with spray paint
7.8.2018
Translation: Eva Francis
Copper, hammerfinish, neon, vintage shabby chic in white and in light blue. Category Marketing Manager Fabienne Müller gave me five spray cans and asked me to give them a try and judge if they really create the effects they promise. Nothing easier than that.
Belton makes great promises: The «belton Special» range, according to the manufacturer, allows you to upgrade day-to-day objects, revamp old treasures and enjoy infinite application diversity. I quickly realise I don’t have any old treasures casually lying around in my home. And if I did, there’s no way I’d spray them in neon colours. So I start off by looking for a piece of wood and sanding it down. Not all spray colours are primarily intended for wood (hammerfinish, for instance, clearly isn’t), but I want to see all colours side by side to take a closer look at them and compare the effect.
Turning new into old
The vintage or shabby chic look is available in white and in light blue. I try both on a piece of my wood board. I let the paint dry for a few minutes and voilà… it looks like regular white and blue paint. I must admit, I was expecting something a bit more vintage. I take a closer look at the can and read that the vintage look is applied by sanding down specific parts of the surface. Alright, but in this case, couldn’t I have used regular spray paint? I try it out, but the sanded down parts look a bit self-made. Which they are, of course, but nevertheless. Maybe my sanding skills are to blame.
Bright colours
I do the same again, this time with orange neon colour. Again, I wait until the paint has dried and then take a look at my creation. No surprises this time; it could be even brighter and flashier, but it’s definitely neon orange. But I’m glad I didn’t spray any of my furniture with this colour, as it’s not my cup of tea. To me, neon colours should stay in the 80s and 90s.
Spruce up your bits and pieces
Let’s take a look at the copper effect. The can says this colour works on wood, but I’m guessing metal and plastic make more sense. Nevertheless, I’m using it on my wood board, just like all other spray paints. As expected, the typical copper shimmer can't be seen on wood, so I reach for the small blue plastic watering can I own. Metal products are a rarity in my household. I spray the copper colour onto my watering can and am happy with the result: I really looks as if it's made of copper. This spray is definitely a favourite of mine.
How about some heavy metal?
The hammerfinish effect spray is designed to give your objects that typical metallic look that you know from old letter boxes or tool boxes. On wood, the effect doesn't look great; definitely not like real metal. I try it out on plastic bucket, which works a lot better, but leaves me with an uneven result. Nevertheless, the metal effect has definitely spruced up my cheap plastic bucket.
My verdict
Despite small deficiencies, (most) belton sprays are worth their money. I was particularly impressed with the copper spray paint, which is great to revamp old bits and pieces. Personally, I wouldn't buy the shabby chic spray – the same effect can be created with chalk, acrylic or even regular wall paint. The thinner layer may speed up the spraying process a bit, but it also means the remaining surface is covered with a thinner layer of paint.
My life in a nutshell? On a quest to broaden my horizon. I love discovering and learning new skills and I see a chance to experience something new in everything – be it travelling, reading, cooking, movies or DIY.
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