How to Make a Custom Spray in Counter-Strike 1.6

Last updated: May 8, 2026

A custom spray in Counter-Strike 1.6 is a personal decal that appears on walls, floors, and surfaces when you press the spray key (default T). Creating a CS 1.6 custom spray requires converting your image to a tempdecal.wad file using HL Tag Converter. This guide covers the full process – image preparation, conversion, installation, and keeping the spray permanent. If you do not have CS 1.6 installed yet, download Counter-Strike 1.6 first.

Table of Contents

1. What you need
2. How to create a CS 1.6 custom spray – step by step
3. Keep your spray permanent – Read-only fix
4. Custom sprays on servers
5. Troubleshooting CS 1.6 custom spray issues
6. Advanced tips

What you need

What you need	Details
An image file	JPG, PNG, or BMP format. PNG with transparent background gives the best result. Recommended size: 256×256 pixels square.
HL Tag Converter	Free tool that converts images to the WAD format CS 1.6 uses. Download HL Tag Converter
CS 1.6 cstrike folder – Steam	Steam\steamapps\common\Half-Life\cstrike\
CS 1.6 cstrike folder – Non-Steam	Counter-Strike 1.6\cstrike\

How to create a CS 1.6 custom spray – step by step

1. Download and extract hl_tag-converter.zip to any folder.
2. Run hl_tag-converter.exe.
3. 1. Open Image – click the “1. Open Image” button and select your image file. Image Info shows current size and surface values.
4. 2. Adjust Image – click the “2. Adjust Image” button. A separate Adjust Image window opens with Size and Transparency settings.
5. Auto Size – click “Auto Size” in the Adjust Image window. The Surface value must not exceed Max Surface (12288). If it does, reduce Width and Height manually until within limits.
6. Apply changes and convert to 256 colors – click this button. Colors in Image Info changes from 32 bpp to 256. This converts your image to CS 1.6’s color palette.
7. Close the Adjust Image window.
8. 3. Save Tag – click the “3. Save Tag” button. A dialog with three options appears – select Export to WAD file and click OK.
9. Navigate to your cstrike folder in the file browser. Find and select tempdecal.wad.
10. Click Save – confirm Yes when asked to replace the existing file.
11. Launch CS 1.6 – press T in-game to apply your custom CS 1.6 spray.

Also confirm sprays are enabled in game options: go to Options > Multiplayer > Advanced and set Custom player sprays to Enabled. Without this setting active, your spray will not appear even if the file is correctly placed.

Keep your spray permanent – Read-only fix

CS 1.6 overwrites tempdecal.wad with the server’s default spray every time you join a server. Setting the file to Read-only prevents this. This is the most commonly missed step – without it your CS 1.6 custom spray resets every session.

1. Open your cstrike folder.
2. Right-click tempdecal.wad and select Properties.
3. Under the General tab, check Read-only.
4. Click Apply, then OK.

Your CS 1.6 spray logo now survives server joins and game restarts.

Custom sprays on servers

Not all servers allow custom sprays in CS 1.6. Many server admins disable player sprays entirely due to inappropriate images or spam. If your spray does not appear on a specific server, this is a server-side restriction – your installation is correct.

Situation	Cause
Spray visible on some servers, not others	Server has disabled custom player sprays via sv_allowupload 0
Spray visible to you but not other players	Server has disabled spray download for clients via sv_allowdownload 0
Spray resets every join	tempdecal.wad not set to Read-only
Spray shows default CS logo instead of your image	WAD file was saved to wrong folder or wrong filename

Troubleshooting CS 1.6 custom spray issues

Spray not showing in-game

Problem	Fix
tempdecal.wad in wrong location	Verify the file is directly in the cstrike folder, not in a subfolder
File not set to Read-only	Right-click tempdecal.wad > Properties > check Read-only > Apply
Sprays disabled in game options	Options > Multiplayer > Advanced > Custom player sprays > Enabled
Server blocking sprays	Server has sv_allowupload 0 – nothing to fix client-side

Spray looks pixelated or distorted

Problem	Fix
Low quality after conversion	Start with a higher resolution source image – low-resolution originals produce low-quality sprays
Spray looks stretched	Use a square image – 256×256 pixels recommended. Non-square images get stretched to fit the game’s aspect ratio
Colors look wrong	PNG converts better than JPG. Use PNG with transparent background for best results

HL Tag Converter crashes or does not open

Problem	Fix
Program does not launch	Right-click hl_tag-converter.exe > Properties > Compatibility > check “Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows XP (Service Pack 3)”
Antivirus blocks the executable	Add hl_tag-converter.exe to antivirus exclusions. It is a legacy tool that triggers false positives on some antivirus programs

Advanced tips for CS 1.6 sprays

Transparent sprays

Use a PNG image with an alpha channel (transparent background). The transparent areas will show the underlying surface texture instead of a solid color box. This produces logos and designs that blend into any wall or floor. The GoldSrc engine does not support partial transparency – pixels are either fully transparent or fully opaque.

Best image size

Image size	Result
256×256 px	Best – fills the spray area cleanly with no stretching
128×128 px	Good – slightly smaller spray in-game
Non-square (e.g. 1920×1080)	Gets stretched – always crop to square before converting

Switching between multiple sprays

CS 1.6 only reads tempdecal.wad. To switch sprays, replace the file with a different converted WAD. Keep backups of your converted WAD files under different names (e.g. spray_logo.wad, spray_meme.wad) and copy the one you want as tempdecal.wad when switching. Remember to re-enable Read-only after replacing.

Animated sprays

CS 1.6 does not natively support animated sprays on the client side. Some servers run plugins that enable animated decals server-side, but this requires server admin setup and is not controlled by the player.

Video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXd8OiqLHxU