Tips for painting polyhives

[local_beekeeper]

What does uv light do to them?

polystyrene may crack or disintegrate

 

[BeeJayBee]

[Masonry paint] rapidly looked tatty, showing every touch of prop, etc - not to mention the various green growths that appeared over the winter!

But even on day 1, white drew attention to the lines of what isn't a pretty box.
Sludge green works better (and blends in pretty well with the background) for me.

Did you paint directly on top of the masonry paint without any problems?

 

[itma]

What does uv light do to them?

Plastics for outdoor use (should) have uv stabilisers.
But they aren't perfect or last forever.
So the exposed surface gets embrittled by the uv and chips away.
Water collects in the chips, provides a seat for algae, moss, etc. And freezing of the trapped water speeds the increase of the damage.

They should last longer if protected with a little bit of paint.
But some may last long enough to satisfy some people without painting. And the paint plus labour cost might not be justified for a commercial operator - the boxes can be pretty cheap, so creating a "replace in future, rather than invest now in protection" mentality.
But the poly boxes do also look better (or less bad) with painting - and looks do matter to many hobby beeks.
So it does make sense to paint poly - for some if not for all beeks.

 

[itma]

Did you paint directly on top of the masonry paint without any problems?

Thats what I did.
Just scrubbed it over with washing soda , hosed it down and let it dry before painting. First coat coverage wasn't great, but perseverance paid off, and the green Cuprinol seems to have 'keyed' strongly onto the masonry paint, which is well-keyed onto the plastic. No primer used at all.
And the Cuprinol has been used direct onto the plastic on my others, with a good strong coating achieved like that as well.

Has anyone used any primers to good effect?

 

[clv101]

Is Cuprinol Ducksback any good for poly hives?
I recently bought 5L of the stuff.

 

[madasafish]

I use Hammerite: tough finish and dries easily.. Expensive if bought from shops - I find near half price stock on ebay .http://tinyurl.com/ogttgm4

 

[Hachi]

Is Cuprinol Ducksback any good for poly hives?
I recently bought 5L of the stuff.

I found it to be pants. Dulux weather shield smooth in pearl green is what I'm using and it goes on great.

 

[clv101]

Crap for poly hives or crap in general, for wooden hives as well?

 

[Swarm]

Any old paint will do and colours can be mixed to suit.

 

[rosco]

Crap for poly hives or crap in general, for wooden hives as well?

I use ducksback on my wooden hives and it is excellent. Two coats of the dark green (forget the name - forest green maybe) looks really neat and smart. And as expected the water either beads or runs straight off.

I've not even had my hives a year yet so can't comment on longevity but we get plenty of rain and wind where I am and the finish is holding up well. Brand new looking in fact.

I don't work for cuprinol by the way! Just think the ducksback is a great product.

 

[REDWOOD]

cuprinol garden shades every time for me although limited colour choice from our local recycle centre but the price is good 0 pence but I will be experimenting with camouflage like swarms impressive art work

 

[Hachi]

Crap for poly hives or crap in general, for wooden hives as well?

I do try to stick to the OP's original Q but to avoid doubt IMHO (having tried it) Crap on poly. Wooden hives should be ok, I will be trying it soon.

 

[madasafish]

cuprinol garden shades every time for me although limited colour choice from our local recycle centre but the price is good 0 pence but I will be experimenting with camouflage like swarms impressive art work

Cuprinol Garden Shades is very soft and easily damaged.

Never again.

 

[sipa]

All polystyrene hives need painting to protect from UV light.

Not true, they don't "Need" it, that's the choice of the beekeeper.

With the density of modern polyhives you see little or no deterioration.

Think fishboxes, they float about the oceans for years and never seem to fall apart !

 

[itma]

Think fishboxes, they float about the oceans for years and never seem to fall apart !

Oh yes they do!

http://www.theecologist.org/campaigning/2138205/microplastic_soup_the_state_of_our_oceans.html

Conventionally, the term marine plastic pollution is used to describe macroplastics - large, visible pieces of debris. ...

However, a less-publicised but equally-serious threat has emerged in recent years: that of microplastic pollution - plastic particles measuring less than 5 mm in diameter.

So where do these tiny plastic particles come from? Well, the breakdown of larger plastic debris is undoubtedly a significant indirect source of microplastic pollution. ...

ADDED - and try this article in National Geographic
http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2009/08/090820-plastic-decomposes-oceans-seas.html

Though ocean-borne plastic trash has a reputation as an indestructible, immortal environmental villain, scientists announced yesterday that some plastics actually decompose rapidly in the ocean. And, the researchers say, that's not a good thing.

...
The researchers behind a new study, however, found that plastic breaks down at cooler temperatures than expected, and within a year of the trash hitting the water.

The Japan-based team collected samples in waters from the U.S., Europe, India, Japan, and elsewhere ...
All the water samples were found to contain derivatives of polystyrene, a common plastic used in disposable cutlery, Styrofoam, and DVD cases, among other things ...

 

[itma]

Not true, they don't "Need" it, that's the choice of the beekeeper.
... !

Yes that is true.
In exactly the same way that plywood hives don't need painting.

Plywood, unpainted, will degrade quickly.
Poly hives (with some protection in the plastic formulation) should degrade more slowly.
But it is indeed the individual beek's choice as to whether or not it is worth trying to paint it and thereby extend the useful life of the thing.
For plywood its pretty much a no-brainer.
For poly, it might not be worthwhile purely on hard-headed economic grounds. But personally, I don't regard a polyhive as being a "disposable".

 

[BeeJayBee]

Thats what I did.
Just scrubbed it over with washing soda , hosed it down and let it dry before painting. First coat coverage wasn't great, but perseverance paid off, and the green Cuprinol seems to have 'keyed' strongly onto the masonry paint, which is well-keyed onto the plastic. No primer used at all.
And the Cuprinol has been used direct onto the plastic on my others, with a good strong coating achieved like that as well.

Has anyone used any primers to good effect?

Thanks.

And no, I haven't used primers to good or bad effect.

 

[keith pierce]

forest green weather shield

 

[lebouche]

So I went with some b&q outdoor spray paints for the third coat. Lesson learnt is use normal paint next time. I was trying to save time as had a lot to do.
I would also if spraying spray the brown last and the green first…as the green looks uglier. I was trying to achieve a camouflage effect.
http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/lebouche1/media/IMG_6324.jpg.html?sort=3&o=8

 

[Itchy]

So I went with some b&q outdoor spray paints for the third coat. Lesson learnt is use normal paint next time. I was trying to save time as had a lot to do.
I would also if spraying spray the brown last and the green first…as the green looks uglier. I was trying to achieve a camouflage effect.
http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/lebouche1/media/IMG_6324.jpg.html?sort=3&o=8

Just done mine in cammo too