How to Paint a Kid's Wooden Climbing Frame

Lay out a tarp around your workspace so you will not get any paint on the floor or on the area in which you are working. The tarp will make cleaning up after the project easier.

Sand down the wooden climbing frame with 180 grit and then 220 grit sandpaper to smooth the wood down and make the primer adhere to the wood.

Stir the primer until it is evenly blended. Paint the climbing frame with the primer and let the primer coat dry completely; for best results, let the primer dry overnight.

Stir the paint you want to apply to the frame with a stir stick so that it is evenly and smoothly blended. Dip your paintbrush into the paint can and wipe off the excess paint against the inner rim of the can to avoid putting too thick a coat on the climbing frame. Use long, sweeping strokes, painting with the grain of the wood. Let the first coat dry overnight.

Apply a second coat of paint to the climbing frame and let it dry overnight. The drying time will stay the same for each coat of paint you apply to the climbing frame.

Paint designs on the climbing frame, if desired. Use a picture as a reference if you want to paint the designs freehand; for example, paint shooting stars on the frame while consulting an image to guide you. Use stencils to paint the designs if you are not comfortable doing it freehand; use masking tape to tape the stencil to the area on the frame you want to paint the design on and apply a thin layer of paint inside the stencil's outline.