Ornament to paint or not to paint

[troy_curtis]

I am making some ornaments. Some of them I know will not be painted, but some I want to paint. What is the best way to paint ornaments? I was thinking spray painting would be fast and easy, but not sure if it will be as good as hand painting using acrylic paint. Any ideas?

[Fab4]

Hi mrtcurtis:
I think you answered your own question
By hand with acrylic paint will look better
I find with spray paint, there are always a few small inside areas that are missed
When you try to touch these areas up then the paint runs, ruining the look of your ornament
It may take you a bit longer by hand but the end result will be well worth it
Good Luck
Fab4

[ChuckD]

I give a bunch of Ornament as gifts every year.  They only have a mix of BLO and MS covering them.  If the folks  who receive them want to paint them it is up to them, and some of them do.  Easier than painting 63 of them, and no one has complained.  Even my Bride will paint a couple of those I keep. 

[mrsn]

I have dyed ornaments in the past. I usually used food coloring but RIT fabric dye will also work (possibly better). just mix a fairly strong amout of food coloring in as little water as you can to cover the ornaments, let sit for a while then hang to dry and finish with a clear spray.
Spray paint will work fairly well for simple cuts, just remember really light coats from every angle you can reach.
I usually save the hand painting for fancy painted designs. I do a little painting now and then and mostly use acrylics on wood.

[jrpeteo]

I have used spray and acrylic, spray the whole thing, and then do a little detailing with the acrylic. The thing that I really like is spray glitter. After the paint I spray some gold aeresol glitter on, they really sparkle, and twinkle. I got it at Michaels craft store. Oh and I also do some in natural wood finish too.
Pete

[troy_curtis]

Got some really good advice from you all, appreciate it. I painted my first one by hand and did a 2nd hand painted coat with a glitter paint. It turned out pretty decent. I will try to spray my next one to compare the 2. Sometime if I feel bold enough I will try dying. Thanks again for the good advice. If anyone else has a method, I am open to even more suggestions.

[jeff44]

I use an air brush.  You can get an inexpensive starter kit from Hobby Lobby with can air to start with to see how you like or do not like.  I don't have any problems with runs from the air brush like I do with comerical can paint.

[king310]

Being new to the art of scrolling I have made just a few projects. I have been using the Christmas ornaments to practice with. I have been using various woods, blades and thickness. Not wanting to throw away my poor quality work I have used craft paint (delta paint) and glitter and gave them to the little girl next door who thinks they are great and is hanging them in her room.
I make other small wood projects (yard art and planter boxes). Painting some of my scroll projects different colors does hide my mistakes . I like to call them my trademark sounds more professional