How to Paint a Terracotta Pot
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My house has a wide variety of terracotta pots and trays spread across my house; however, I wanted to try and mix it up on two pots I bought recently by painting them. They are both in my bathroom and range from 6 to 8 inches. It may seem obvious on how to paint a clay pot: you get some paint, slap it on, put a green friend in it and call it a day. That is not the case and I am glad I took the time to look into it before I did the same thing.
The most important part is the sealant. Terracotta is very porous, hence why it dries the soil out so fast, but because of this the paint can leak through to the roots and poison your plant. Similarly, the paint on the outside of the pot can easily get chipped off. Sealant solves both of these problems. However, when you apply the sealant to the inside of the pot you will be sealing off the porousness which means your plants will not be drying out near as fast. Just be careful when watering.
As far as paint goes, you can use spray paint or acrylic. If you are painting the entire surface one or two colors, then spray paint is a very easy way to achieve this fast and with an even coat. Primer is useful to speed this up even more as it gives the paint a smooth surface to stick to and will require less coats from you. I am doing a more intricate and color blocked pot so I chose to use acrylic paint.
I initially had a spider plant that was really large and was growing all these babies but one day my cats discovered it and ate ALL OF IT. Spider plants are like catnip. So 5 months ago I bought second one and hopefully can learn from my mistakes on this one (i.e. it is not in an easily accessible location). It has grown a lot and needed its pot to be sized up. I think it looks quite happy now. My rubber plant normally does not like growing in terracotta since those dry out so fast but since the inside of these have been sealed, it will retain its moisture way more. Hopefully these two will thrive as growing season has now arrived.
Supplies
Paint - Spray Paint or Acrylic
Primer (optional)
Painters Tape (optional)
Paintbrushes - Foam brushes are cheap and great for this
Sand the Terracotta
Depending on the type of terracotta, yours might be rough and have some sharp areas, I like to give it a light sand with a fine grit sandpaper. It won’t ever be perfect but it does help with the painting.
Clean Your Pot
Soak your pot in a container filled with warm water and a dollop of dish soap. Use a scrub pad that has a rough side to get off dirt and leftover price stickers. Let the pot dry through (24-48 hours).
Seal the Terracotta
Shake your can of sealant and then apply an even, light coat to the inside of your pot. Because terracotta is porous, the first coat will soak in. Reapply one to two more times until satisfied. Let dry.
Paint the Pot
I decided to do color blocked sections so I lightly drew with a pencil, the areas I wanted to paint and then applied the first coat.
Apply More Coats
Apply 2 to 3 more coats until you can’t see the terracotta peaking through and repeat for any other colors you want.
Seal the Terracotta
Seal the outside of your pot one time to help protect your paint job. If you are placing these outside, feel free to do more coats. Let dry.
I think the most exciting part of finishing a planter project is when you get to put your plant into its new home. I love repotting, or when I get a new plant, I love deciding what I am going to place it into. There are so many options for planters. Let me know how your planters turn out in the comments!
