How to Paint Jenga Blocks

If you have gotten bored of your regular and super dull brown game of Jenga, one thing that you can try doing is painting the blocks. Painting the blocks will make them look a bit more colorful, and it can also add a bit more difficulty to the mix as well.

Let’s go over a step-by-step instructional on how to paint Jenga blocks.

Can You Paint Your Jenga Set?

Yes, absolutely can you paint your Jenga blocks. Jenga blocks are made with normal wood, and they aren’t sealed either. You can easily sand them down and paint them any way you see fit, and you can use more or less any paint that you want as well. Painting a Jenga set is no harder than painting any other piece of wood. That said, due to there being 54 blocks, it is somewhat of a lengthy process.

Why Should You Paint Your Jenga Blocks?

One of the main reasons to paint your Jenga blocks is to just make them a little more attractive to the eyes.

However, the real reason why people paint their Jenga blocks is to make them smoother. The point of making Jenga blocks smoother can be twofold.

On one hand, smoother blocks slide much easier and are easier to remove from the tower without bringing the rest of the blocks along with it. That being said, this is a double-edged sword, because smoother blocks are also harder to grip onto. Painting your Jenga blocks is definitely an interesting thing to do.

How to Paint Jenga Blocks

Now that we have established that you can indeed paint your Jenga blocks, as well as why you could potentially paint your Jenga blocks, let’s go over a step-by-step method on exactly how to do so.

1. Sand the Blocks

To paint your Jenga blocks, the first thing that you need to do is to sand them down. After all, the whole point here is to make them a bit smoother and more slippery.

Therefore, to make them as smooth as possible, you want to use either some 80 grit or 100 grit sandpaper to smooth them out.

You don’t really have to sand the small end of the blocks, although you could definitely do so. With that being said, sanding down the four long sides is what you are paying attention to here. Yes, this will take some time, but you do want to sand all of the blocks before painting them.

2. Clean the Blocks

Before you can apply paint to your Jenga blocks, just like when painting any other surface, you first need to make sure that it is perfectly clean. You don’t want any debris present, even the smallest of debris, being under that paint, or else it will ruin the effect.

If there is debris under the paint, they won’t be as smooth and slippery as you want. Therefore, just use a damp cloth to wipe the blocks down to ensure that there is no debris present. If you get the blocks a little too wet, make sure to wait until they are perfectly dry until you paint them.

3. Start Painting the Blocks

Now it is time for you to actually start painting the blocks. Before you can get to painting, you do want to choose the right type of paint. A lot of people are going to choose spray paint here, mainly because it makes life a lot easier. Remember that you do have 54 blocks that you need to paint, and spray paint is generally the fastest way to paint anything.

With that being said, you can also use acrylic paint, polyurethane paint, or oil-based paint. Just remember that if you are using spray paint or acrylic paint, for the best results, you will also want to apply a second layer of paint, as well as a layer of slick polyurethane over top.

Assuming that you are using acrylic paint, get a very small and smooth paintbrush, and start painting the blocks.

You can start by laying all the blocks on one side, and then paint one side of all 54 blocks. Once this has been done, rotate the blocks and paint the next side. Keep repeating this process until you have painted all four sides of the blocks.

If you want, you can then also paint the small ends of all of the blocks. Make sure that the paint is completely dry after each session because you don’t want the paint to rub off on the surface below when you turn the blocks to paint the next side. You may apply a second layer if you see fit.

4. Seal the Blocks

If you did not use oil-based paint or any kind of moisture-resistant paint, you are going to want to seal the blocks afterward.

Depending on the paint you used, with ample use, it may rub off on your fingers over time. Therefore, to preserve the paint for as long as possible, it is a good idea to seal it with something like a polyurethane sealant.

Just like you painted the Jenga blocks side by side, you will also have to do this with the polyurethane. Once all of the blocks have been painted, sealed, and dried, your new Jenga set is then ready to go.

Summary

Painting your Jenga blocks will definitely make things a bit more colorful and interesting. Of course, having blocks that are painted and very slick will also help make the game a bit more difficult. Slick blocks are harder to hold onto, and this can definitely make things a bit more fun and interesting.