Customizing stuff is my MO. Buying a cookie-cutter, off the shelf, item is boring. Making something my own and unique and sometimes looks awesome is one of the most satisfying things in the world!
With velcro, it can be a pain. There are options you have, though. You can use markers, dye, and paint. Paint?
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Can You Spray Paint Velcro?
Yes, you can paint velcro but it will weaken its effectiveness. Velcro is a tiny plastic hook and hoop system that uses a bunch of pieces of string to cling together.
When you paint them these small hooks and hoops clump together and lose their ability to latch onto each other. They basically get stuck together and become more of a wall of paint and plastic instead of lots of tiny hands to latch together.
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Velcro and most hook and loop systems are made of nylon. The materials are hard to dye as they are plastic. Plastic doesn’t accept dyes easily. Instead, painting the surface with paint or marker is a much better option.
A permanent marker can work well on plastics but long term it will fade, rub off, or even worse transfer to things you don’t want to dye like clothes! Color options may be limited with permanent markers.
How Do You Get Spray Paint To Stick?
Paint may be the best option cosmetically. Functionally can be a different story. Using thinner paints may be your best option. A paint that will not goop up and act like glue but still effectively cover the velcro is ideal.
Spray paint is pretty much acrylic or latex. These two paints are nylon friendly. So you won’t have a problem buying almost any rattle can. Spray painting velcro is the easiest way to color velcro. Other ways are time-consuming, tough to apply, and color matching may be a pain.
Will Spray Paint Ruin Velcro?
If you use spray paint on the surface of each side they will not stick as well. The paint weakens the bond of the hook and loop system.
If you want to paint the backs and sides once the velcro is connected and you do not need to remove the velcro much, you don’t need to remove and reattach the velcro much then painting it once it is closed is easy and simple.
There are other options if you really want to paint velcro. The results are ok but the process is long and tedious. Is it worth it? That is up to you.
How Else Can I Color Velcro?
- Spray paint
- Good: Quick and easy. Color options.
- Bad: Permanent. Can’t reattach velcro.
- Dye
- Good: Better usability. color options.
- Bad: Longer process. Messier. Could transfer.
- Buy new velcro
- Good: No mess. Perfect application. Permanent.
- Bad: Color matching. Harder to attach. More work. May be impossible to replace.
- Use The Velcro Unpainted
- Good: Nothing extra needed.
- Bad: May not look good.
Spray painting is the quickest and easiest way to get it done. If you have something you don’t need to attach and take off a lot this can be your answer. Though that may defeat the point of using velcro in the first place.
Using dye can work as well. Rit tint may be your best bet. But dying nylon may be harder than it seems. It can get messy, you will probably dye other parts around you without knowing, and the finished color may be different than the dye you bought. Testing and practicing are crucial for dying nylon.
Buying new velcro may be the best option. If you can simply replace a strip somewhere you can buy colored velcro on Amazon in almost any color. You may have to buy a pack or more material than you would ever use. But for some people, this will probably be what they do when they have tried the other ways and failed.
Or, you can lean into it and leave the velcro how it is. It’s easy and you are already done. You can use it as camo or a color scheme instead of color matching. Though if you have white velcro that is hard to make look decent.
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So we know if can you spray paint velcro and make it turn out good. It depends on what you want. But typically, we are going to be unsatisfied with the results. Until there is a cheap and easily workable spray paint we won’t have the best results.
The more work and patience you have the better the results. After all said and done, I would spray paint the velcro sealed together. Then I would add a screw between the velcro sides and make it a permanent bond. That’s my technique. It’s may not be the best but its mine.
Thanks for reading and stay dirty.
