| Search our quarter-million Q&As |
Home of the finishing HOTLINE since 1989
-----How can I paint polyethylene?
Q. How can I paint polyethylene?
Carlos Lara- Mexico
A. Carlos,
To answer your question ... and all you asked was 'how do I paint Polyethylene' ... the reply is easy. Go ahead and paint!
Maybe what you meant but didn't say is HOW does one get a bond. Ah. The answer is simple. You don't.
Had you given more data, maybe I could have helped you. For instance, had you a round PE tank, then use a latex paint all over (latex being somewhat flexible) so that entire tank is painted and the paint will, so-to-speak, bond to itself, but not (very well) to the PE.
If it's a flat surface the paint would eventually come off.
Freeman Newton [deceased]
(It is our sad duty to advise that Freeman passed away
April 21, 2012. R.I.P. old friend).
A. I find the response to our Mexican friend's query about painting polyethylene to be rather "smart Alec-y". The helpful response, I believe, would be to advise him to use house exterior acrylic, which is more flexible, and will expand and contract without cracking.
For a technical bulletin on this subject, go to www.polyprocessing.com/pdf/technical/PaintingPEStorageTanks.pdf
Thanks, however, for providing us with this forum on refinishing topics.
Sincerely,
Steve Currie- Anchorage, Alaska, USA
|
Hi Steve. Thanks for the info and the helpful link! Freeman is not a smart alec, but a very kind spirit who has helped hundreds & hundreds of people here over the years -- maybe thousands. But he has been begging posters for years, as have I, to detail their own situation rather than posting an abstract question -- and I'd guess his reaction was in response to Carlos doing just exactly that anyway :-) Regards,  Ted Mooney, P.E. Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey Need quick confidential answers? $25 Need project assistance? $100/hr. |
Sorry! Finishing.com is temporarily Read-Only.
Ted Mooney is retiring but I have several offers to take it over.
We're working hard to make sure we find it the best new home.