So you’re a DIY’er at heart… a McGyver of the crafty community? I am too. Welcome, this is our playground. We have fun here. Make lots of stuff. It’s who we are and what we do. But regardless of how long you may or may not have been playing with glitter and glue, there’s a few paint secrets that you may not know and they all have to relate to the question .. ..

Can I use this paint on that?

The BIG Secret: Paint is Paint: You can use it on pretty much anything.

Let me help you out with this.

If you walk down that paint aisle at the craft store today you can easily be overwhelmed with the different paint options. Do you want craft paint, chalk paint, fabric paint, outdoor paint, the list goes on and on…

Plus if you buy paint specially made for those products, you also have to buy different shades and the price just goes up and up and up.

Here’s the secret – As long as you are not mixing acrylic and oil based paints, you can use pretty much any type of paint on any surface.

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Do you have to use fabric paint on fabric? No . Now it might be softer or more flexible but if you have acrylic craft paint, it will hold to fabric . I’ve also used spray paint on t-shirts before and made these adorable flag t-shirts with them. To be honest, I do have a favorite fabric paint that I mention in my Top 5 Craft Supplies , but if I don’t have a particular shade, I’m not afraid to use regular acrylic paint or mix it with a little bit of fabric paint to make my own colors.

Do you have to use chalk paint on wood? No . Chalk paint simply has a more matte appearance and has a little bit more dry ingredients, which makes it easier to sand and manipulate. If a DIY craft calls for chalk paint and all you have is acrylic and want to use it, go for it! I’ve also stirred baking soda into paint before, like I did on these DIY Buffalo Plaid Mason Jars , to give it a chalkier appearance. It’s hard to mess up paint. If you want to make your own chalk paint, here’s a chalk paint recipe .

Can you add water to craft paint? Yes . Now there’s special watercolor effect craft paint. You can get the same effect by adding water to the paint. You can thin out paint a little for use on fabrics or do it a lot to get more of a stain effect on wood. I’ll tell you the truth. I’ve even dyed a t-shirt using watered down black paint because that is what I had and to this date, is my favorite DIY look yet.

Can you use latex house paint on crafts? Yes. The only thing to remember is that house paint is thicker and dries slower. You can also paint on top of it with acrylic craft paint but remember to sand lightly first if it’s a shiny finish.

Can you mix latex house paint and craft paint? Yes . Since house paint is so thick and the colors are so vibrant, the craft paint won’t do much to change the color – that’s just something to keep in mind.

As I said earlier, you cannot mix acrylic and oil based paints. However most craft type paints are acrylic and can mix together.

The best thing to get paint to adhere to surfaces is to properly prepare your surface. Now I’m not the best at this because I go 90-to-nothing but a simple swipe of sandpaper on wood, or properly cleaning glass before painting will make the most difference when it comes to your paint lasting on any surface.

But what if you really want to make sure the project will last but don’t want to splurge on specialty paint?

I have at least 75 colors of acrylic craft paint that’s made for all different purposes. Some days I just want to use those but I want to know that whatever I’m making will hold up in the wash forever or outside on a clay pot.

Here’s the secret: Use paint mediums or protective coatings.

For instance, if the craft aisle you can buy a bottle of fabric medium. It’s a small bottle filled with a milky white substance that you mix into paint to transform it into fabric paint. Can you paint on fabric without it? Yes. But it’s going to guarantee that your paint will hold well in the washer and dryer time and time again while thinning it out slightly.

You can also buy Fabric Medium here.

If you want to paint a clay pot and have it last for years and years, use your acrylic paints and then cover it with a coat out outdoor Mod Podge or spray on polycrylic.

There’s even a glass and tile paint medium to help the paint stick to shiny surfaces – you can buy it here.

One of the greatest perks to using a paint medium is that you will have a much larger color selection and you won’t buy a multiple colors of specialty paint that you might never use again.

But what if it doesn’t work?

Before you go crazy painting everything in your home with whatever paint is on your shelf, give it a try! Choose the backside of your project or a scrap piece of material and see how the paint reacts.

Maybe it won’t work. In the many years I’ve been making things, rarely do different paints not work how I want them to. However, because of age or the cheapness of the paint, it may not work. Give it a try first before you head to the hobby store because… what if it does work?

I rarely use paint without mixing in water or multiple types of paint together. Yes, I’m that person.  And you know what? It’s saved me a ton of money and has given me a lot of freedom over the years to explore and have fun with my creativity.

Here’s a Valentine’s post where I used watered down paint to give it a translucent look:

Get the instructions to make your own here: Easy Heart Canvas .

Don’t be afraid to experiment with paint!

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