Painting Poly Hives

[pargyle]

Does the foil tape oxidise and go a Matt colour ??

No ... not inside the hive... stays pretty much the same. I use it outside and overpaint it with whatever paint is going on my hive bonnet/solar wax melter etc. and it takes a paint finish quite well.

 

[madasafish]

Does the foil tape oxidise and go a Matt colour ??

Mine on cosies is painted and the missing paint patches are still bright..

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Thanks

 

[Quis Custodiet]

as promised, all 4 hives painted and finished now.

....and a sensible colour too. Out of interest what is the name or B.S. no.?

 

[BMH]

They are all different colours.

They are from Valspar.

I need to dig up the names as I am going to name each hive by the paint colour as opposed to numbering. Make things easier when hives start to get moved around or colonies united etc.

Once I find them, I will post them up.

PS - they have ridiculous names like Wood Pigeon and Nature Lover.

 

[Quis Custodiet]

They are all different colours..................

Thank you, It was after posting I noticed they were indeed of different hues!
It was the one nearest the camera that caught my eye.
Forgive me if you already know, but it will help others; those Swienty roofs can be used as floors, a useful feature if one is in need.

 

[BMH]

closest hive is called shadow core, valspar external masonry paint. its available from the mixing counter. its £2.50 for 250ml which is enough for a roof, brood box and 2 supers (just).

Ah I didnt realise that about the roof. handy tip. thanks.

 

[Quis Custodiet]

:

That's just not true..................

That was a very informative post - thank you. Somehow I doubt the advanced technology used on the continent has reached the UK., but I would be happy to be proved wrong.
According to the Apidea website, they are now manufacturing those one foot sq. mating nucs, if the quality is the same I would not mind having some. Has anybody encountered them?

 

[Cussword]

Just painted two Maise's poly nucs. Found a bunch of masonry paints in the cellar that SWMBO has bought over the years.
After doing some mixing, I have a very nice Dove Grey nuc, and a rather fetching Salmon Pink one . (That's what happens when you mix Hebridean Mist??? with brick red)

I have another coming this week, God knows what colour it will be.



Fortunately, I usually, ( usually he says, it's his first full year) keep the nucs at home.

.

 

[Beecarer]

That's just not true.

The rather smooth shiny effect is a by product of the hot vacuum moulding process that most good poly is made from. Suspect you have not seen many brands.

Yes, Apideas are a first class product, but well overpriced for what they are.

The finish on them is fairly standard and not in any way lacquered. They should be painted like any other poly. They will weather just the same (I have some that are over 15 years old) albeit more slowly due to the shorter season they have sitting outside.

Most UK made poly is a bit different and very 'beady' on the outside. I have not checked for some time but the UK did not have the technology to make sufficiently dense poly with the best finish on it so it mostly came from various plants in Northern Europe. Other makers simply cast the product, producing a product with a hard exterior but relatively brittle and a bit loose in the interior.

As polyhive said....there is poly and there is poly.

I've seen a few different types of poly hives over here, none were of that brown poly construction or had that real hardened shell the brown Apideas have, would you be able to rate the top 3 poly hives you have so far seen / used?

 

[Beecarer]

A additional finish coat of nano paint would definitely keep them in top condition and any water out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twr3Dthd4Ao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvTkefJHfC0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ord6dTARWfo

 

[Erichalfbee]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ord6dTARWfo
According to the application video you need xylene to clean up afterwards and the coating fails if you get detergent on it or you handle it excessively.
I bet it costs a fortune too.
Neat first video though

 

[fincaazul]

Following on from some advice on here, I am in the process of painting my poly hives.

Doing it 1 by 1 and transferring frames over once its warmed up enough to do inspections as I have 1 spare hive anyway.

Was not sure what paint to get and had seen sandtex was used by a few but its pricey stuff and the colour palette is poor.

Went to B&Q and they have the valspar mixing machine. They do an exterior masonry paint and you can pick from 2.2 million colours! Far too much choice.

The best thing is the sample pots are huge (250ml) and really cheap for what it it is. Only £2.30 a pot!!

The lady reckoned it was 10m2 per litre coverage. I have found that 1 sample pot is enough for 2 coats for a roof, 2 supers and a brood box.

Whats nice is you can have different colours for each of the hives without breaking the bank.

Will post some pics once they are all finished.

I appreciate some people dont care what they look like and can get a 5 litre pot of magnolia for a tenner but I like things to look nice as they are in my garden...

Like everything quality counts, Dulux woodland green Masonry paint in it's several different shades , is excellent. Please paint the inside with one coat to avoid having a grubby unappealing hard to clean surface.

 

[Poly Hive]

Please do not paint the INSIDES as the bees will propolise it. Keep your aesthetic concerns for the outsides.

This has been said times on the thread.

PH

 

[Swarm]

Please paint the inside with one coat to avoid having a grubby unappealing hard to clean surface.

If your hives are grubby inside you must have a problem with your bees, unless you are mistaking the coat of propolis they apply for something bad?

 

[BMH]

Lots of conflicting advice. Some of it good, some of it less so.

We have thousands of poly boxes and we paint ALL the outer surfaces of the hive with decent grade GLOSS oil based paint with a little thinners (to the recommended level for a sprayer) added. It bonds very well to the surface of the poly and seems as if it will last a lifetime, as will the boxes. Our first wave of painted ones are now 16 years in service and most look very fresh.

Where masonry paint comes into its own is the internal surfaces of the feeders. In an external situation, water based masonry paint on poly does eventually flake a bit, a problem that does not happen using oil based paints.


But then, if you buy the recommended box paint from some poly makers they sell a water based paint, others oil based.

Just re-reading this.

What gloss paint do you recommend?

 

[Lancs Lad]

My creative side

 

[Millet]

I have recently been trying to find a good rubberized brand of floor paint to paint the out side of one of the polyhives i have recently fixed to strengthen it, however i think i will give up trying as the price is extortionate and it is cheaper just to keep buying new Abelo ready painted boxes.

 

[madasafish]

I painted my MD poly hive with Hammerite Green Garage Door Paint in 2014.Still unchipped,not peeling, looks as when painted .
Two coats of paint.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Just re-reading this.

What gloss paint do you recommend?

I have recently been trying to find a good rubberized brand of floor paint to paint the out side of one of the polyhives i have recently fixed to strengthen it, however i think i will give up trying as the price is extortionate and it is cheaper just to keep buying new Abelo ready painted boxes.

Have you thought about spreading a thin coat of coloured silicon seal using a spatula?