Spraypaint, plastic, weather, shall they be mixed?

January 9, 2008 8:25 AM

Spray painting plastic curtains for outdoor display. Advice needed.

I need to make some big, primitive signs that will be displayed outdoors for at least a month. This is in New York City, so they will be subjected to wind, rain, snow, plus occasional unseasonably warm weather.

My idea, so far, is to spray paint some plastic shower curtains, which I can get on the cheap. I am aware that painting plastic with regular spray paint is bad news, but it seems like water-based spray paints should be safe (is that a good assumption?).

My questions: does anyone have experience using water-based spray paint on plastics and do you think my scheme would be durable enough to withstand the outdoors for several weeks?

Thanks.

posted by otolith to media & arts (5 comments total)

krylon has a line of spray paint specifically designed for plastic which has worked well for me.
posted by phil at 8:38 AM on January 9

i have found that the water based spray paints runs a lot more than standard spray paint and this makes it difficult to paint anything with much detail, if that is a concern.
posted by phil at 8:41 AM on January 9

I don't think shower curtains are going to be that durable. Maybe make a couple signs and replace ones that fail? Depends on how cheap you can get them, I guess.

Are you more worried about the durability of the plastic or of the painted letters?

If it's the plastic itself, think about getting a canvas tarp from Home Despot or other hardware store. That might hold up a little better, and it won't be a problem to paint. The extra $$ spent on the tarp will be worth it, since you can use the cheapest spraypaint you can find.
posted by dubold at 3:10 PM on January 9

I drove past this paragon of creative marketing every day for over a month this spring. Bed sheets, dowel rods through the hems, and spray paint. Elegant she ain't, but it withstood the elements just fine.
posted by acorncup at 5:28 PM on January 9

Thanks for the suggestions, all. I am more worried about the durability of the letters. Since I need to make quite a number of them, the cost of the curtains/tarps/sheets is the limiting factor. I bought a few of the curtains and tried the paint that you suggested phil. Looks good so far, so I'll give them a few days in the elements and see what happens. If they shred into little tatters I may have to suck it up and check out those canvas tarps.
posted by otolith at 6:13 PM on January 9