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Hi I have 20 wooden letters about 8 inches tall that I will put on painted wood outside my house. I live off the ocean and their air is somewhat corrosive. I've been painting coats -one coat a day - they dry in about 4 hrs using Valspar Exterior Semi-Glass Acrylic Paint.
Is there anything else I can do to make these letters last longer?
Would a hood over the top protect them a bit from rain or sun?
I have 3 coats now - if i paint one coat a day and do about 10 coats is that optimum?
Note; I first ordered letters from wholesalellettering.com also known as Discount sign letters and timberland. all out of Chatsworth Minn
The letters I received were flimsy one was broken in two pieces on route. they looked like particle board. I found another company that for virtually the same price had much higher quality. Wholesalelettering has a policy where they offer 50% refund but when I asked for a ful refund they said "We are in business to make a profit" they were slow - a bad experience.
Any advice on making wooden lettering last longer would be useful to all.
Paint with primer included is like laundry detergent with fabric softener included. It'll be better than the one without, but barely. It's no substitution for two different products that serve different purposes.
FWIW, the dried primer spots on the front walkway from when I was painting ... 2500 psi on the pressure washer, and it's not coming off. Dried paint ... that blasts right off, even with my dinkier 1400 psi electric.
Paint with primer included is like laundry detergent with fabric softener included. It'll be better than the one without, but barely. It's no substitution for two different products that serve different purposes.
FWIW, the dried primer spots on the front walkway from when I was painting ... 2500 psi on the pressure washer, and it's not coming off. Dried paint ... that blasts right off, even with my dinkier 1400 psi electric.
YES!! What a great example to give for folks to think about. I've found that same thing to be true of cleaning paint trays or paint drips on a floor after priming vs painting. The difference is unbelievable. IMHO if you want a really good paint job, you MUST use a good primer. I love to paint and have done so for over 30 years. I didn't always know about primer. Unfortunately, I wish I'd have known then what I know now. Multiple coats of paint don't do squat if it isn't going to adhere to the original surface.
OK I'm sorry I messed up and believed the guy at Lowes. You guys are correct and I was wrong. I know I'm guilty of worse things over the span of my life but I really need to MOVE ON! lol
Now I have about 5 coats of paint waiting a long time between each coat. They do seem to have adhered well. WHAT do I do now? Buy some primer and add it as a 6th coat and then put 4 more on afterwards? Do I try to sand off the paint ( it wouldn't be easy) Valspar is acting like Lowes saying a few coats of that paint will be just fine.
I wouldn't add more paint. Holy cow, if 5 coats of paint won't do it, adding a coat of primer, then adding 4 more of paint is not going to make a difference. The thing of it is, you want the paint to adhere to the letters....adding more coats to the upper surface isn't going to help. Try painting the backside of the letters? At least that way, it should help to fully encapsulate the letters, avoid having any moisture come in to deteriorate from the back side. Good luck and hey, you know the right way to do it now....you do really need to move on. You'll just know better next time. No harm, no foul! I've always learned a lot more from my mistakes than from my successes!
Yeah well two of my mistakes are 9 and 17 years old respectively LOL they are great kids even somewhat famous in our area. As for doggie - shes mistake number 3.
I've painted the letters on all sides and the back. I would believe the salt air blowing in off the ocean will corrode them over time, thus the more coats the more years of utility. The coats are thin and even though they seem to dry quickly I bake them in the sun for a half day on average.
It only takes about 20 min to do each coat and there is no great rush to get the sign up-- Are you saying the additional coats don't help at all?
I was told to screw the letters into the wooden sign. I got thinner screws- is there any advice on method? I don't want the letters and their multi coats of paint to split in half.
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