Can You Spray Paint a Pleated Lampshade?

Can You Spray Paint a Pleated Lampshade

Can You Spray Paint a Pleated Lampshade?

Can You Spray Paint a Pleated Lampshade?

Lampshades have been considered as the heroes of interior designing. The right lampshade can make a big difference inside the house. Because of its versatility, lampshade manufacturers have ventured into producing elegant and attractive shades varying from sizes, colors, materials being used, translucency, and style.

Having the perfect lampshade can create a warm and energizing environment that can complement and highlight any decorating choices. Because of the fact that there are so many styles to choose from when visiting a lighting shop or designer online, selecting the best lampshade has become a surprisingly hard job.

People who already own a lampshade experiences problems such as change of color of the shade over time. Because of this, they try to explore do-it-your own ideas such as painting the shade to have a newer and more attractive look of their old lampshades.

Before we start

Before we discuss the nature of spray painting on pleated lampshades, here are some things you need to know about this particular product:

Shape

When we talk about lampshade, one important thing you need to consider is the visual energy. Some lampshades have a cylindrical and tall body. Some models have a round body and square base. The goal here is the match the body and the base in order to have a good-looking lamp that can be placed in the desired area of your home.

Since there are many types and shapes of lampshades in the market today, it is important to choose the best that can complement your architectural design needs

Size

Lampshades are like hats. They vary in sizes. However, there are certain rules that you need to follow in order to have a balanced size. There is a specific measurement that needs to be followed when it comes to the height, the body, the vertical slant, and the diameter. Proportion is the most important factor to consider when it comes to lampshade sizes.

Translucency

The translucency of lampshades refers to the light that passes through. A translucent lamp shade will allow more light to arise within the room while opaque lampshade can direct light from the top to the bottom of the shade.

This type of lampshade is often used to produce a dramatic and elegant mood lighting. Lampshades have different textures and colors and each of them has their own translucency. The translucency varies in the wattage of the bulb being used.

Fitter

Fitters of the lampshade are the hardware that enables the lampshade to connect to the lamp. There are different kinds of fitters. Be sure to have the right fitter that can match with your lamp.

Texture and Color

Lampshades can project primary colors and can highlight a subtle tone in the area where it is placed which includes the lamp base. Lampshades come in different types of fabrics such as silk, burlap, and paper and they can be smooth or pleated. Pleated lampshades are more traditional and best pair with antiques.

Spray Paint on a Pleated Lampshade

One particular type of lampshade is the pleated lampshade. Over time, lampshade’s color changes and its look is not as fresh as it used to be. When lampshades go dull over time, you may need to change its appearance by doing some spray painting. Particularly on pleated lampshades, stains and dust can infiltrate the shades including its insides.

You need not to buy another shade or another lamp because there are many ways that these items can be revived at a minimal cost such as painting.

The question is, can you do spray painting on the pleated lampshade?

The answer would be YES. Even though it may seem difficult because of the nature of pleated shade, there are ways that you can try when you want to use spray paint on this type of lampshade.

How to do it

Before you start, you may need several items such as spray paint of your choice, extra papers, pleated lampshade, and painter tape. There are several fabric spray paints available on the market. You may choose any color you desire.

Before doing the painting, make sure to remove the shade from the body then clean your shade from dust so that it will not mix with the paint. Put some painters tape on the metallic part of your shade so that it cannot be included when spray painting.

Start by placing extra papers or newspaper on the floor or in a table outside your house. Put several papers that can catch any excess paints. Put your shade on the papers and start spraying all over the shade. Wait for one to two hours in order for the paint to dry off and repeat again.

When using the spray paint, make sure you are 10 to 12 inches away from the shade so that the paint can widely penetrate the shade and give even colors off. Shake the spray paint from time to time. Spray evenly from one area to another and do not focus on just one part of the shade when spraying.

Repeat spraying all over the shade until all its surface has even colors. It is important to remember that when doing spray paint on your shade, it is very vital to give it even colors on the surface because if not, the uneven colors will be very visible when you turn the light on.

Conclusion

Painting a lampshade is not an easy task. There are many things you need to consider if you want to explore this kind of activity. These includes deciding the right type of paint for your lamp shade, choosing the best type of color to use and anticipating the expected result of such.

For pleated lampshade, the most common and probably the best type of paint to use is the spray paint. Because of the folded nature of pleated lampshades, using ordinary fabric paints can be difficult if you want to obtain an evenly perfect and new look of your shade.

Yes, you can use spray paint for a pleated lampshade. The use of spray paint is easier compared to ordinary fabric paints or watercolors because spray can ensure that all the sides and surface of folded pleated designs of the shade can be penetrated.

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