Letter 23245

What paint can I use to paint gumboots? [Australia]  +++ I am in yr 12 and doing my HSC project for D&T and was woundering if you could tell me what paint I can use on gumboots (U know the plastic material that is on them), also if you could give me a price on it too. Kristine W. - Tamworth, NSW, Australia +++ A language problem. Gumboot is not a name used in most of the world. Just like I thought a 2 wheelie was a bike only to find out that it is a garbage can. James Watts - FL +++ In the UK a gumboot is another name for a wellington boot. The wellington boot is named after one of national heroes, the Duke of Wellington, who first wore them. For those who still do not know, it is a boot that reaches to the upper calf muscle or just below the knee; it is usually made of rubber or, more recently, thick synthetic waterproof plastics. They are usually lined with some form of insulation to keep our feet warm in the winter. Wellington boots are quite popular in the UK, especially in our wet weather. Green "wellies" are also a prestigious status symbol amongst some city dwellers who like to pretend they are living in the country, especially when worn with waxed coats such as the world renowned "Barbour"; to make the set, you ideally need a spaniel, labrador or retriever dog and pretend you have a broken shotgun under your arm. If you have the whole set, then you have really "arrived" in trendy city (especially London) society! Trevor Crichton R&D practical scientist - UK

Hi Kristine,

It's terrible to know that a minority of the English speaking peoples in the world don't know what GUMBOOTS are. One must feel sorry for them, eh?

As far as a paint is concerned, oh dear, here we have a very flexible 'boot' so you'd need a very flexible paint, won't you? May I suggest you go to your local paint store for that ... but preparation is the key ... you'd have to clean, better still, sand down the boots before painting.

Why sanding? Because that will increase the surface area quite apart from removing gloss. Go and try out first of all some of your Mum's nail varnish.

I don't have a clue what these boots are now made from, probably from a flexible vinyl ... in which case Mum's nail varnish should stick on very well but it's not flexible!

Freeman Newton - White Rock, B.C. Canada

I somewhat doubt if any paint will stick for a long period of time and especially where it flexes. You could try a hobby shop and get a small bottle of paint for plastic models. Try it on the least obvious area you can find on the boot. If it works, buy a large bottle or bottles.

Freeman, I have survived marvelously well without a pair of wellies or boots known as gumboots. Now, I do know what a Fosters is and have downed a pack or two.

James Watts
- FL

Kristine,

Good luck with your year 12 project. The answer is very simple, I know from experience, you see when I paint the outside of the house I occasionally wear gumboots.

Strange the North Americans don't know what gumboots are considering there are gumboot throwing competitions all over the world. I thought everyone knew aboout or had seen Monty Python on TV. Even stranger still that James didn't know what Fosters was until he was educated in the refinements of world class beers. Its a good drop. And of course our rubbish (garbage) goes out in a rubbish bin (trash can) which is made of plastic and has two wheels on it. Naturally its called a 'wheelie bin'. Reminds me of that story of the garbage collector on his rounds when he came to a house where the bin was not out. He knocked on the door and asked the occupant "Where's ya bin?", and the guy answered "I's bin away on holiday". The garbage bloke said "No, where's ya wheelie bin?" and the guy says "Geez I's really bin in prison".

Back to the problem, the acrylic paint that fell on my gumboots when I was painting the house is still there. So I know the spots of acrylic paint stay, but perhaps you could ask the local shoe repairer if the paints he sells for changing the colour of shoes would work on your gumboots.

Tony Johnston
- Melbourne, Australia

Kristine,

I hope that you will let us know what you tried and what worked. At least your letter provided an amount of good natured discussion of the diferences in language.

Tony, Freeman is from Canada and he still does not know exactly what a Fosters is. The beer is good, but it is not making itself available worldwide. I do not think that Fosters became reasonably available in the USA smaller cities until 15 years ago. I was introduced to it by an Aussie in Jungle Survival School in Singapore about 40 years ago.

James Watts
- FL

Kristine,

Did you manage to find a paint that will stick to gumboots??? I too would like to paint a pair of Gummies!!! Your knowledge would be much appreciated....

Adrian M.
- Sydney, Australia

I have a small business, and we are wanting to design our own wellies. I recently found out that for wellies to be patterned they print on to jersey and use this to line the see through rubber wellie. But this is expensive and can only do when mass produced. We are also looking now for a way of paining on the boot. My friend once used acrylic paint, but her wellies kept sticking together.

Jo Mapp
- Nottingham

Hi Kristine,

Maybe if you mixed acrylic paints with a thickish pva you could prevent the paint cracking as the pva is very flexible. Or paint the wellies them paint over with two coats of pve to seal them. Mind you, by now you're probably not bothered anymore are you? Just realised this thread started 2003!!!!

Incidentally...forget the fosters, stick to JD!

Corinne Bradd
freelance designer - Colchester, Essex, UK

Hello

I too was also wondering what paint i can use on gumboots, i am a big fan of buying plain things and jazzing them up(making them look cooler by painting them) i wanted to get a pair of old gumboots and paint them but i have no idea what paint will stay on.My dad said that i could use oil paints but I'm not sure.I was thinking of using an acrylic paint and then spray on a waterproof cover
should I use oil paints or acrylic??

Stephanie P.
hobbyist - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Hi guys,
just wanted to let you all know that I too needed to know what paint stayed on gumboots. I am in yr 8 and I am girl guide, my unit and I are going on a camp called 'the lady stradbroke cup' and we need to paint our 'boots'. thank-you all so much for you help, it was greatly appreciated. keep up the good work.
Love Matilda

Matilda H
- Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

I am also looking to paint my weliies for a guide camp. would pva glue on top of acriclys do the job. I think that taking a plain simple thing and making it to my liking and putting my identity on it is fun. Also does any one know what the mass production technique for making wellies is as I need to know for my GCSE graphic product course.
Thanks

Emma Victoria
- Hampshire, England, UK

....just found this site in my pursuit of "how to paint my wellies"...so....after three years (when question originally raised here)....has anyone found sure fired way of painting their wellies????? or have you all given up now :o)

KATHY BARNARD
- London

I can't tell you what would work, but I can tell what won't. I tried spray paint and wouldn't recommend it. It didn't dry, not even after a couple of weeks, and remained sticky, so that everything and everyone the boots came into contact with stuck to the boots (or got paint on them).

Taryn C
- Perth, Western Australia

Hi folks,

I haven't actually gotten around to trying this yet but I reckon permanent markers on light coloured boots would be the way to go. Say, white fishermans/mongers boots.

PVA is no good - it is water soluble which kind of defeats the point of wearing gumboots - you can't jump in puddles!

As for Fosters - possibly THE worst Aussie beer available (after XXXX so I hear!).

Hope that helps.

Kat Dobbyn
- Melbourne, VIC, Australia

I just found this site after searching for a solution to my gumboot painting problem....I don't think I was the first one to do so either.

I read this entire thread and considered all the suggestions made. The only plausible one seems to be the nail polish...what's more - I've tried it and it works!

happy gumboot painting, guys!

Megan Wilson
- Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Fosters is not a good beer at all! It's the beer we Australians export because no one here will drink the filth. You'll be hard pressed to find it on tap anywhere and even in bottle shops there might be One sixer (6-pack) sitting next to the 4 or 5 sixers of Carlton Draught & VB (it's worth noting the same company makes Carlton, VB and Fosters)...

Onto the Gumboots. I'm currently trying out some reletively decent Spray Paints on some gumboots. I have to wait to get home from work but I'll post something about my results tomorrow.

Julian Wearne
- Melbourne, VIC, Australia

No charge for waste disposal if you want to ship that Foster's to me.

Ted Mooney, P.E. 
finishing.com
Brick, NJ

Well what a long list of ideas. Most of it was not worth the read, how you ozzies end up talking about beer when the question was really about Gumboots?

So what was the answer in the end - Seems no one follows up?

I hope the poor yr12 girl gets her answer before she dies!

All the best for your quest

xxx

CHRISTI SUE STRYDOM
- Empangeni, Natal, South Africa

HI.
This little debate has definitely been going on for some time. I too need to paint a pair of Wellies for a GCSE project. So far I have been advised that Car paint is a good try.

Lara Reeds
- London, England

Yes, Christi Sue, there has been discussion of beer & dogs & other things on this thread, but I see several actual good suggestions for painting gumboots interspersed into it. When our regular readers volunteer their free time to help out a thousand new strangers each month, I don't think anyone can fault them for occasional playful camaraderie with their fellow "regulars".

For simplicity, my first try would be Krylon Fusion [linked by editor to product info at MisterArt] since it's a simple spray paint specifically made for painting plastic. Good luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. 
finishing.com
Brick, NJ

28 June 2008 - I've just found this site when trying to find the right paint for wellies (gumboots).

I have cut an old black pair down and put plants in them. I want to decorate them to make colourful planters, so flexibility won't be a problem.

Initially I have cleaned and polished them with black shoe polish - a bit boring, so I'm going to my local paint shop to get some acrylics. Can but try.

Rebecca Steeves
- Highworth, Wiltshire, UK

Hey folks! I've been trying to find an answer to this problem for a couple of years now! Spray paint for plastic won't work, I tried that last year and the paint was still tacky 4 weeks later! Sounds like acrylic paint and nail varnish are the way forward...

Steve Campbell
- Inverness, Highland, Scotland

I want to answer or follow-up on this subject (in non-commercial fashion).

 

I want to post a new question or inquiry on a different subject.

 

This letter is within a monitored forum, very much "alive" here in 2008. If you spot any broken links or obsolete info, please advise!