The-Artistic-Garden's Blog

I Want To Repaint Some Of My Terra Cotta Pots,
But Need To Remove The Old Paint First.

I received an email from Sheila asking:

Hello from England, I have some terracotta plaques and pots that have already been painted. I wish to repaint them, but need to remove the old paint first. Can you suggest what I can use to remove the old paints from the pots and plaques. Look forward to hearing from you.

My reply:

Hi Sheila from England

Thank you for contacting me and I hope I can be of some help.

To remove the old paint, I would try any or all of the following. But first I will say, if the old paint is adhering really well to the terra cotta (no peeling or bubbling, as examples), I personally would paint right over the existing paint. Why? Because obviously the old paint is “sticking” extremely well and then serves as a great base coat!

Since I have no idea of the old colors or the new colors you wish to use … if the old paint is sticking well, but maybe too dark for your new colors, then just paint on a neutral color coat first.

However, if your terra cotta pot has peeling paint and such, then I would try the following: first I’d try using a coarse sand paper to gently sand off all the paint that was possible. (This may be a slow process.) Whatever paint just doesn’t seem to want to come off … I’d leave well enough alone. If it’s stuck that good, well let it stay and paint over it!

Try using a putty knife with a 1-inch wide (give or take–just not so wide as to be hard to use) blade to try and scrap off the paint.

The other thing you can try is to soak your tera cotta pots and plaques in water for at least 24 hours. Then see if you are able to peel away, or gently scrap off the paint. I don’t know how well the pots were primed, etc. in the first place, so possibly they will start to peel after being soaked for a good amount of time.

I would NOT use any liquid or gel paint remover. I am sure you’ve already figured this one out, but I’ll mention it just in case you might be thinking of doing this. The terra cotta is porous and will end up absorbing whatever chemical you would apply to it. Bad idea.

Does this help?? I hope so and please do not hesitate to contact me again with any other concerns. And if you come up with a marvelous method to remove paint from terra cotta pots… would you please let me know?? Thanks!

How Can I Add An Antiqued Effect With Paint
To My Terra Cotta Planter?

I received an email from Kris who asked:

Great articles on The-Artistic-Garden … How can I make my terra cotta planter look older or antique with white paint? Do I brush it on and wipe it off? I’d like the details to have a little white left in the cracks.

My reply:

Hi Kris:
Thank you for the kind compliment and I think I can give you some good ideas:

–you can brush or daub on the paint (my choice would be to daub it). Refer to this page for more info: Decorative Daubing Paint Technique.  I’d also probably use a piece of an old sponge to do the daubing, instead of a brush. But either way, daubing would be my choice.

–yes, you could wipe off the “excess” paint after you apply it

–if it were me, for a much better looking faux terra cotta antique coloration, I would choose 3 neutral colors that are a few shades apart and start layering them on.  If white is what you want to be left in the cracks, then that would be your base coat. Leave more white in the cracks; wipe off more of it from your pot. Then apply the two other colors lightly and randomly to help achieve an antique appearance.

–wiping or blotting a little of the paint off as you go along may help you gain a depth to the antiquing.

Obviously, your creative abilities will have to come into play for this project, but the great thing is that you can always go back over your pot with a few daubs here and there of a lighter or darker color if you’re not thrilled with the end result.

You might want to practice the colors and application technique on a smooth piece of cardboard first, just to get the hang of it all.

Good luck with trying your hand with this fun faux paint project!

What Is Best Non-Toxic Sealant Top Coat
For People & Our Furry Friends?

Cats4 asked:

Hi! I very recently found your website, signed up for your newsletter, and just registered for the forum – everything is great and very informative!

I’m going to try painting some new terra cotta flowerpots, and I’d like some advice on what to use for a top sealer coat – I’d like something that will be very shiny and glossy, but hopefully not too dangerous or toxic. I have 4 nosy elderly housecats who try to “help” me with everything, and while I won’t be letting them have access to my supplies or “help” me, I’m sure they’ll be close by – I don’t have anywhere (separate room) to work where I can shut them out. I think it would be safer for me to use some kind of brush-on top coat rather than a spray, because I don’t want the cats inhaling the spray residue that would fall through the air while I’m using it.

I realize anything I use that will provide a shiny protective coat won’t be completely “non-toxic”, as far as ingesting it, but can you suggest anything relatively easy to work with that won’t create bad fumes in my work area? Although I’ve worked with acrylic paints on other projects I’ve never done any that required a shiny sealer coat, so I’m real new at this! Thanks so much for your wonderful site and any help you can give me! Cats4

My answer:

Hi Cats4:
Thanks for all the compliments and for posting your questions. I too have cats, BTW 

As far as a “non-toxic” top coat, you’re right, you really can’t get 100% non-toxic, however some are worse than others. I think that the problem with clear top coats, at least from what I know (and what I just now researched to refresh my memory), is that brushable types are harder to come by than spray types, such as the Krylon brand clear coats.

There are brushable glossy clear coats that are meant for use on masonry and concrete (Home Depot’s “Behr” brand has one that I know many ‘tufa makers say is great to seal ‘tufa and concrete, and is ultra glossy.) Now, maybe that product will be OK to use on a painted surface too — you’d have to read the bottle and maybe pick the mind of the paint dept. employee (if the person really knows about the products … the new H-Depot here is, well … some of the sales people aren’t too qualified to be working in their departments, if you know what I mean!   )

You could get a brush-on polyurethane sealer, and there are glossy types available. Just make sure the type of paint you are using is compatible with the polyurethane sealant.

But, is there a reason you can’t go outside to spray your pots? It doesn’t take them that long to dry enough so you could carefully bring them back indoors to let them continue to “cure”. Heck, I’ve been known to prop a 5-gallon bucket upside down on our front lawn, put a piece of newspaper over that, place the pot I need to spray with clear coat on top of that, and just start spraying! After about 15 minutes or so you could move it indoors to continue curing, like I said before.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention!

Does any of this help you? I hope so. Good luck with the project!

And then Cats4 replied back:

Hi Claudia,
Thanks for replying and for researching my question, too! I can do some of the work outside in the good weather, but I was thinking of the long cold winters when I hope to have time to do alot of painting – I live in Michigan. I also don’t want little bugs getting stuck on the pots – I love all living creatures, yes, even bugs! And lately there have been oodles of white fuzzes going through the air from some tree in the area. But for now I can do my sanding outside, and the “sticky” work inside our camper.

I decided to experiment – couldn’t get either Kilz brand primer or Krylon clear coat spray at the main store I use (Larson’s), but bought a gray outdoor primer and a clear gloss spray top coat of another brand (can’t remember name) that the store carried. The man said many people use this clear coat for outdoor things they’ve painted, over acrylic paint, so I’ll give these things a try on a couple of pots – see how they work. If I’m not happy with how my first pots turn out, I’ll still have time to experiment with other products before cold weather. I also plan to go to the one little hobby shop in my city to see what they might have, as far as a brush-on top coat, although I might be so happy with the results of the spray type that I don’t want to change!

You’re right about the “necessity/mother of invention” thought – made me realize that if I need to I can take the painted pots to my Mom’s house for spraying in the winter – no pets there!

I’ll let everyone know how it goes with my pots – if things work out with these products I’ll list their names (everything’s out in the garage right now and I just can’t remember). Thanks again for the tips – I have your website in “My Favorites” on the computer, so I can get to it fast! Cats4

And my final comments to her:

Hi Cats4:
Glad some of my ideas helped. Yes, please let us know what products work for you. Never hurts to discuss the pros and cons of how different things perform for us in our projects. Plus, like you’ve mentioned, sometimes certain brands are not available everywhere.

FWIW … I grew up in Michigan and I remember those cotton “fuzzies” flying through the air! Made our lawns almost look like it had snowed.   Cottonwood trees … right?

Oh … and about the primer. Though Kilz is a great product and does what it says … I have many pots that have been outside for years (terra cotta and poly-resin ones) that I just used a neutral color acrylic paint on for the base coat. Just mentioning it as another thing you can use. But Kilz might afford a little better base coat for your top coats.

Handprints Made In Hypertufa Stepping Stones …
Is The Recipe Caustic?

I received an email from Diane asking:

I wanted to put in handprints of the grandchildren into hypertufa recipe stepping stones for the garden. You spoke about it being caustic. Can it still be done?

My reply:

Hi Diane:
Thank you for contacting me. Yes, a hypertufa recipe is caustic due to the portland cement in it. However, since all you want is an impression of their hand, which means it is a rather quick contact with the wet ‘tufa, I have knowledge of people smearing a good coating of vaseline on children’s hands and then letting them make the impression. **Please supervise them washing off their hands thoroughly with soap and running water (don’t use a bucket of water).

If you follow this procedure, there should be no problems. The “caustic” issue really comes more into play when people are working for prolonged periods without hand protection. Just go to Google Images and enter in “cement burns” and you’ll see some nasty photos.

An even better choice would be to buy tight-fitting children-sized latex gloves.

Use your best discretion.

DO NOT allow anyone to press down their bare hands into any wet hypertufa or concrete mixture.

And make sure to wear your gloves, dust mask and goggles while mixing up the dry ingredients.  Please review the Hypertufa Safety Guidelines page on my website for all the facts you ought to know before you begin any ‘tufa project.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your project.