OT Kathy help w/ painting

House paint won't work -- won't hold up to the water. My best advice is "don't" :)

I'm not a painting expert but I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night. They paint swimming pool liners, trim, something? don't they? The log ride at Six Flags? Aren't various body parts on boats some sort of fiberglass? Never mind. Probably wouldn't be good for the finches. Polly

Most of the paint that is meant for adverse environments is either some kind of Epoxy based paint or baked on like the paint that is applied to vehicles. You need something that will adhere to the surface and bond with it. Whenever you have two surfaces that expand and contract at different rates, due to outside weather influences you will have the chance for de-lamination. It is a hard job to get it right from the casual homeowners perspective. You might try an epoxy based paint, but don't be surprised if your results are less than satisfactory.

John

I slept at home. But it left me awake enough this morning to Google. ;-)

Here is a link to painting a fiberglass shower, complete with suggestions as to paint. (Appliance paint spray on, is the suggestion. Available colors are White, Almond, Biscuit, Black, and Stainless Steel).

I also found some spa/hottub paints in more colors... but the cost was enough for 8-10 yards of fabric. I'm gonna side with the expert (Kathy) and guess it isn't worth it.

Make a seasonal nylon flag/banner and hang behind it. Then the fountain stands out and you create more projects for your to-do list!

;)) Ginger in CA

They usually use two component epoxies or urethanes, which generally aren't available a) in small quantities or b) for home use. Even then, it's a maintenance thing, and they have to recoat every few years.

Ask any boat owner with paint on the outside of the boat (as opposed to colored fiberglass or a factory urethane finish) how often they paint the boat. The marine supply place loves those guys. :)

You'll also notice that others recommended against the appliance spray paint for immersion. A shower has water in it for a very short time compared to a bird bath, and even a shower is too much moisture for the appliance spray paints, which are only for incidental moisture.

Even the spray epoxies won't last long. They work for tubs because the tub isn't filled for long and then is allowed to dry. Constant immersion is beyond a pre-catalyzed epoxy.

And my guess is it will only last 3-4 years. :(

Thanks for all the input you all. I found a link:

The kids gave it to me for mom's day. I wonder if painting is a bad idea might there be a way to stain the outer bowl and outer edge of top section just to make it darker? We are not running hearst castle here but I would like it to look decent. It is on the wall I can see from my sewing machine window. I enjoy it, the birds enjoy it and the cats aren't griping about it either. I wish I would have taken the redwood siding dad was tring to get rid of last time I was rustling through his wood pile. I might have to go back and get that stuff and just make some type of back board that I can paint. Thanks again, Taria

Actually, my concern would be for the birds. We have a serious drinking problem here. Why? simply beats me since we are surrounded on 3 sides by water but there's a steady line of critters at our bird bath. There is a whole lot of drinking and washing going on and we try to keep it as clean and safe and we can. Polly

One of the paints I use to see used a lot was when I owned a boat and when it was in dry dock there were other boats in there for repair and repainting. They used to use something called linear(sic) polyurethane. Now if it would stand up to the same demands as a sail boat that was used in salt water, it would certainly stand up to the demands of a bird bath. It was applied with a spray gun, and the guys who applied it used to say that it was bullet proof. You might see if something like that is available from a marine supply store.

John

Taria wrote: