Painting is about more than color. It's about preparing surfaces, choosing the right materials, and doing a clean, lasting job. You'll learn skills you can use around the house and maybe even on a service project.
Why it's worth it
Good painting is mostly preparation, and the skills you learn here pay off fast. You'll be able to refresh a bedroom, protect a fence from the weather, or help repaint a church hall, school, or park building on a service project. Painters who prep well and clean up well are always in demand, and the trade can lead to steady work, apprenticeships, or your own business. You'll also learn which paints are safe and how to keep them out of drains and landfills.
Start this week
- Walk around your home with a parent and find two surfaces that need paint, like a scuffed door, a wooden shelf, or a fence board.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Painting counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- Look at a color wheel online and try picking a three-color scheme you like using neighboring or opposite colors.
- Check the garage or basement with a parent for old paint cans and read the labels to see what kind of paint each one is.
Stay safe
- Don't sand or scrape paint in a home built before 1978 until an adult has checked it for lead.
- Paint with good airflow, wear eye protection when scraping or sanding, and keep solvents away from flames.
- Set up and climb ladders only with an adult holding or supervising, and never stand on the top step.
Requirements · 8
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab) (updated 2025).
- Requirement 1
Explain the safety steps to follow when getting surfaces ready and when putting on paint or other coatings
Tip: Learn the safety steps for sanding, scraping, and using solvents, like wearing eye protection and keeping air moving.
- Requirement 2
Coatings and paints
Tips for this section: Visit a paint store and ask staff to show you the different types and what each one is for.
Example for this section: Bring two labels to your counselor and compare them: a water-based latex for an interior wall (easy cleanup, low odor) and an oil-based enamel or exterior stain for trim or a deck (tougher, but needs solvent cleanup and more ventilation).
- Requirement 2a
Explain three ways a coating can make a surface better
- Requirement 2b
Explain how oil-based, acrylic-based, and water-based paints differ
- Requirement 2c
Explain where you would use varnish, wood stain, flat paint, and enamel paint, and why sheen matters
- Requirement 2d
Tell why each of those finishes is the best choice for its use
- Requirement 3
With projects your counselor approves in advance, prepare and paint two different surfaces using patching or caulk and the right primers and topcoats (ideas: a wall, door, furniture, concrete, porch rail, or fence)
Tip: Help with a real job at home, like a fence board or a piece of furniture, with a parent's okay.
For example: One wood surface: fill nail holes in an old shelf with wood filler, sand, wipe the dust, prime, then two thin coats. One metal surface: scrape rust off a garden chair with a wire brush, wipe it down, use a metal primer, then topcoat. Take before and after photos.
- Requirement 4
Pick harmonizing colors with the Painting pamphlet's color wheel, then prepare and paint an item in those colors
Tip: Look at a color wheel and pick colors that look good together before painting a small item like a birdhouse.
For example: Paint a birdhouse with an analogous scheme like blue, blue-green, and green, or a complementary pair like blue walls with orange trim. Explain why you chose those colors from the color wheel.
- Requirement 5
Show how to properly use, clean, maintain, and store painting equipment
Tip: Clean your brushes right after painting and store them so they'll be ready next time.
For example: For latex, wash brushes and rollers in warm soapy water until the water runs clear, spin or shake out the water, and hang brushes so the bristles keep their shape. Seal cans tightly and store them above freezing.
- Requirement 6
Explain why ladder safety, personal hygiene, and personal protective equipment matter when painting
Tip: Practice setting up a ladder safely with an adult, and learn what gear to wear when painting.
- Requirement 7
Explain some environmental and health concerns with stripping paint, applying paint, and getting rid of old paint
Tip: Find out how to dispose of leftover paint safely in your area.
For example: Explain why old homes may have lead paint, why VOCs from some paints matter indoors, and how your area takes leftover paint, such as a household hazardous waste day or a paint recycling drop-off.
- Requirement 8
Careers or hobbies. Choose 1 of 2
Tips for this section: Talk with a professional painter about their work, or explore painting as a hobby.
- Requirement 8a
Research one career related to painting: training and education, costs, job outlook, pay, duties, and advancement. With a parent's or guardian's permission, you may search online or at a library, interview a professional, or visit a workplace. Discuss what you found and what makes it interesting with your counselor
- Requirement 8b
Research how painting skills could become a hobby or part of a healthy lifestyle, including training, costs, and groups that support it. Discuss with your counselor the short- and long-term goals you might set
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A paint or hardware store paint counter
Staff can show you primers, sheens, and how a color is tinted by machine.
How: Go with a parent at a quiet time, like a weekday afternoon, and ask the paint desk if they can walk you through product types for ten minutes.
A job site or service project being painted
Seeing a crew mask, prime, cut in, and roll shows how pros work quickly and cleanly.
How: A parent or leader can ask a contractor they know, or join a community repainting day, and arrange for you to watch with an adult.
Where it can lead
- Painting contractorPaints homes and businesses; many learn through an apprenticeship and later run their own company.
- Industrial coatings applicatorProtects bridges, ships, and tanks from rust with specialized coatings.
- Auto body painterMatches and sprays paint on vehicles; often trained at a technical school.
- Scenic artistPaints sets for theaters, theme parks, and film.
- Coatings chemistDevelops new paints that last longer and are safer; needs a chemistry degree.
Ask yourself
- Which part of the job did you rush, and how did it show in the finished surface?
- What surprised you about how much prep goes into a good paint job?
- How did you choose colors, and would you choose differently now?
- What's one place in your community that could use paint, and how might your troop help?
- Would you rather paint for a living, for a hobby, or just for your own home, and why?
Good questions to ask a professional painter or your counselor
- What prep step do beginners skip that causes the most problems later?
- How do you choose between a brush, a roller, and a sprayer?
- How do you protect yourself from dust and fumes on the job?
- How did you learn the trade, and how do people get started today?
- What's the hardest surface you've ever painted, and how did you handle it?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Tie the badge to a service project, like repainting a park bench, with adult supervision.
- Make sure scouts have proper ventilation and protective gear when painting.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- Hardware or paint store — Staff can explain paint types and tools.
- Environmental Protection Agency (opens in a new tab) — Info on safe paint disposal and lead safety.
- Local household hazardous waste program — Where to take leftover paint.
- EPA Lead (opens in a new tab) — Why old paint can contain lead and how to work around it safely.
- PaintCare (opens in a new tab) — A nonprofit that runs paint recycling drop-off sites in many states.
Pairs well with
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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.