Can You Use a Paint Brush with Spray Paint? Explain Briefly why or why not?

Sometimes, you may not complete all the tasks of a painting project using spray paint. A paintbrush might be needed to give a finish on the job.

It can help you paint evenly and precisely. Paintbrushes can be ideal for painting areas that require more attention. Achieving textured effect with brushstrokes appears easy.

Can you use a paint brush with spray paint? Yes, you can use a paint brush with spray paint. First, you’ll spray the paint in a container and use the paint brush to apply it to your preferred surface.

How to Prepare the Spray Paint before Brush Painting

Preparing the spray paint before brush painting appears simply easy. You’ll first spray paint on all the surfaces where you don’t need to use any brush.

Generally, edges, corners, and other tricky spots are hard to cover using spray paint. Brush painting is the best solution for them.

After painting on all the easy-to-access areas, take a small disposable container (inset) or spray painting cups and spray paint on the container carefully. Don’t spray too much paint at a time since it’ll dry up soon.

You may need to spray paint on the container several times based on your painting requirements. Just make sure to spray the paint immediately from the container before it’s going to dry up.

What Type of Brushes do You Use for Spray Painting?

A wide range of brushes is available in the market for spray painting. Since it’s all about spray painting, you’re probably using it to paint wood, glass, plaster, Styrofoam, ceramic, wrought iron, terracotta, canvas, tin, or a similar surface.

Choose a paintbrush that has soft bristles. Combining nylon and polyester materials will be the best option to achieve impressive results on various surfaces.

Plus, it should have medium thickness because too thick a brush will significantly affect the quality of your painting.

Right Tools Make All the Difference

When you want to use a paint brush with spray paint, some essential tools are required.

• Primer
• Spray paint
• Painter’s tape
• Gloves
• A high-quality soft paint brush
• 2-3 small-sized spray painting cups
• A fresh rug

7 Steps to Take When Using Spray Painting with a Brush

Using spray paint with a brush requires you to follow some steps to achieve the most satisfactory results.

Step-1: Prep Your Work Area & Wear Safety Guard

At first, want to prepare the work area where you want to paint. Then, use painter’s tape to protect the place you don’t want to paint.

Working on a well-ventilated area is a solid rule to thumb to protect you from harmful fumes. However, wearing a face mask and gloves is necessary for complete protection.

Step-2: Clean the Surface of Your Item

Next, clean the object or surface you want to paint. Having any dust, dirt, or grime on the surface will prevent you from painting it properly.

You may notice a cling surface if there’s any debris on the surface. However, scraping some hard residue from the surface might be necessary too.

Step-3: Apply Primer First

Before using the spray paint, you want to use the primer first. Shake it appropriately before applying.

Apply the primer even on your preferred surface. Let it dry completely. One coating of primer will be enough. You don’t need more.

Step-4: Use the Spray Paint

Once the primer coating is thoroughly dried, spray paint won’t cause any issues. Shake it properly. Doing a spot trial is a solid rule of thumb before using it on the entire area.

Wash off the paint using the rag or cloth that you mistakenly apply to the outside area. Avoid painting a heavy coating initially.

Apply a thin coat at first through the hand-holding spray paint. Your primary objective should be achieving an even coating for all the surface areas.

Users may need to go for the subsequent coating to splotch the area properly. Regardless of your painting approach, be sure you have a consistent result at the end.

Step-5: Use the Paint Brush

As we’ve already mentioned, you often may not be able to achieve precise results on areas of the surface using spray paint.

Spots like curves, edges, or corners require more precision to paint. Therefore, spray paint alone won’t give a satisfactory result from it.

Step-6: Spray Paint into Cup to Brush On

You may use extra paint instead of spray paint when using a brush. But using two different products on the same surface won’t give a perfect finish.

That’s why you want to use the same product to touch up spray paint with a brush. Take 2-3 small-sized spray painting cups to keep the color inside.

Now, take the paint using the soft brush from the container and appropriately apply it to the tricky areas. Do it carefully to avoid applying in on the already applied zones.

Step-7: Complete the Painting Project

Let it dry for hours. Make sure the coating for brush paint and spray paint are similar.

Otherwise, some areas will be thick compared to others. Everything should be smooth.

That’s all the required you need to follow if you’re wondering about “Can you use spray paint with a brush?”

Reasons Why You Can Use a Brush with Spray Paint

There’re several reasons behind using a brush with spray paint.

• It helps you to apply paint on tricky areas.
• You can achieve finer results from the combination of both.
• Applying both of them together will save time and money.
• Users will have better control for using a brush with spray paint.
• This ensures exceptional adhesion on the painting surface.
• Smooth and even coating with great details can be achieved.

How Do You Get A Smooth Finish With Spray Paint as Brush On?

Both spray paint and brush paint are best in their ways. But when you use them combinedly, achieving a smooth finish might be your main priority.

Choosing an airless sprayer and utilizing the “back-brushing” technique is one of the most sophisticated things you can do to get a smooth finish. 

Under the “back-brushing” technique, you’ll first apply the paint using spray paint.

Though it appears like a load of work, brushing the surface will quickly be easy-going. Most importantly, it dries up quickly.

Using both paints will help you achieve a finder adhesion on the painting surface. So, they’ll last longer.

When you use a paint brush and spray paint together, you can cover an ample space in a short time. This will save your time too.

What are the Disadvantages of Using Spray Paint With A Brush?

Though there’re multiple benefits of using spray paint with a brush, it’s not free from disadvantages. Followings are some drawbacks of using spray paint with a brush.

• You’ve to buy paint brushes and containers.
• Brush marks might be left on the painting surface.
• People may face difficulties if they’re not experts at painting.
• Not all surfaces are appropriate to use both of them combinedly.
• The cleaning task will take more time.

What is the Best Way to Clean Up After You Have Painted?

Once you complete the painting project, cleaning the spray paint, the paint brush and the surrounding surface of the paint surface is necessary.

Cleaning the Spray Paint

Make sure you close the spray paint lid to prevent entering air inside it. There’s no cleaning task needed to do for the spray paint. Instead, use a rag to remove any paint drop from the sprayer.

Cleaning the Brush Paint

Cleaning the brush paint takes a little bit more effort. Aim at getting rid of as much paint as possible from the brush by using an old rag or towel.

Rinse the brush properly underwater to get rid of the remaining paint. If there’s still some paint on the brush, keep it in hot water container vinegar.

This will weaken the attached paint on the brush. Instead, take a fabric softener and brush off the paint on the softener to remove all the remaining residues.

Cleaning The Surrounding Area

Some unwanted areas are likely to get paint even though you don’t want it. So it’s better to clean them immediately when spraying the area mistakenly.

But give a final cleaning after completing the painting project using the old rag. You may need to use a cleaner if they’re hard to remove.

Related Question

Conclusion

Are you still wondering about this question: Can you use spray paint with a brush? Some painting tasks require using both paint brush and spray paint to achieve the best result. You will use both a spray painting and a brush painting technique together.

However, you need to know the suitable method of using both of them combinedly, which we’ve mentioned above. Hopefully, you got a clear overview to use a paint brush with spray paint.