# Deck Paint vs. Oil to latex ect ect?



## Riverdog (Mar 15, 2009)

I bought new honey supers and I'm interested in hearing of the different paint options out here for exterior finishes. Ask any painters and they say oil first then latex. 

Any one out their have 2 cents? What approach or efficient methods or products are you using? Any ideas would be great to read!!

Regards
Riverdog

PS is't almost river season


----------



## chillardbee (May 26, 2005)

Most of my supers are painted once with an oil base exterior solid-color stain. i use a brush for the hand holds then a roller for the rest. after 10 years the supers still look quite good. I've been thinking about using a paint sprayer but not sure if I should change that wich works good already.


----------



## GRIMBEE (Apr 3, 2007)

Oil, latex, stain, polyurthane, spar, or don't paint it at all. I don't think it matters to the bees. I have been painting for about 20 years, they make latex primers now. I just use whatever extra I have laying around.:thumbsup:


----------



## dsquared (Mar 6, 2006)

*Paint*

+1 for Grimbee. The bees aren't going to appreciate your work. Equipment that I put 2 coats of quality exterior oil base paint on 20 years ago still looks good. I think the key is quality product, and I prefer paint over stains because I think they protect against UV damage better.

If you have a bunch of equipment and want to save money, buy the best quality paint that has been returned because the color was mixed incorrectly. If you are a small hobby beekeeper, go through the color charts and pick what suits you. If you are in an area where nosy neighbors or vandals are a problem, camouflage might be in order.


----------



## PCM (Sep 18, 2007)

What ever you can get at yard sales !

Most of the time FREE, Garbage man won't take it and people are too lazy to take it to a recyle place !

Dumpster Diving is more fun than shoping ! :shhhh:

PCM


----------



## Jon L (Dec 29, 2007)

Maybe try to get mistented Duration exterior paint from sherwin williams its self priming and is about the best latex product I know of.


----------



## crazytranes (Apr 7, 2009)

I remember reading on MB's website that he dipped his hives in a heated beeswax/turpentine mixture. You can check his website for the details. 
They come out looking really pretty!


----------



## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

*Painting supers*

You might want to look at ZINZER 1-2-3. It is a great primer.
BEHR Z 5050 is another great product.
Ernie


----------



## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

I used deck stain, instead of paint.


----------



## Bud Dingler (Feb 8, 2008)

buy cypress supers from Rossman and never paint a box again.


----------



## justgojumpit (Apr 9, 2004)

I used deck paint too.

justgojumpit


----------



## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

*Ask any painters and they say oil first then latex.*

You might want to try this method on some scrap wood and *see* the results.
Please take a close look at the ZINZER products.
They are like appying cream to the wood and their primer is top of the line.
Ernie


----------



## Kiwi Will (Feb 1, 2009)

*Ex paint and decorator uses acrylic primer then 2 top coats*

For me, I used a top line acrylic primer (cheaper in 4 Lt tins over here instead of single Lts) when it was still all in bits. 
I chose paint that had been incorrectly tinted at the Trade counter of the paint shop.
I didn't paint the inside surfaces cause I am relatively new to this hobby & I understand it is not the thing to do. I did all the joints and edges where water might/may creep into then after making up the boxes/supers, I then took an inch brush with Primer on it and dabbed Primer on the nails 'cause when they went into the timber during construction, they cracked the wood (untreated Pinus Radiata) ever so slightly. So...after construction, I then gave them 2 coats of acrylic high gloss. 
I chose acylic as it has a building effect so as the cracks where the joints are on the corners, get filled up with paint to help keep the water out.
I would agree that the oil based paints will last longer but they dont have that building effect to protect the joints from suckin in water. That wouldn't have been a problem if both inside and outside surfaces (and joint edges) were painted. 
If I wasn't in so much of a hurry to get my hives up and full-a-b's then I would have painted the whole sha-bang with oil. Oil based Primer then oil based undercoat then a top coat of full gloss.
One thing I would do now though, is have a hardwwod for a landing strip for the wee critters. If the surface is painted, water sits on top of it and if they aren't too exact in their flying /landing ability, they often end upside down on their backs and get stuck on the wet surface. If it was unpainted and rough sawn, then they wouldn't have a problem. The next hives will have raw hardwood timber doorstep with no paint on it.

Its interesting seeing what other folks do isn't it. 
Good luck Cheers
Will


----------

