Spray-Applied Coatings for Outdoor Metal Furniture
A finisher shops for a paint he can buy in volume to apply to outdoor metal restaurant tables and chairs using spray equipment. November 29, 2014
Question (WOODWEB Member) :
I'm bidding a job that consists of re-finishing 40 metal chairs and 20 metal tables that the customer wants painted with copper metallic paint. The chairs/tables are for a restaurant's outside seating. The owners painted the chairs themselves four years ago with rattle cans and they are still in good shape with just a small amount of primer showing through in the wear areas, so the material did a surprisingly good job. I don’t want to rattle can 40 chairs so I'm looking for a source that can supply a similar material (xylene thinned synthetic) in gallons so I can run it through a pot.
I've looked online and all I come up with is M&M or Blue Pearl and although they may be good products they are both WB and I'm looking for something rust resistant from the start without having to prime first. If I have to I will prime instead of using spray cans. I've also looked in the knowledge base and saw a recommendation for what I gather is a 2K poly that I believe would be overkill and most likely too expensive for the owners budget for this job.
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor W:
How about a Hammertone type of paint? It’s great for outdoors and easy to apply.
From contributor F:
A local auto paint shop will be able to get you any metallic you need. Be prepared though as auto paints are significantly more expensive than what we're used to using for wood. You may spend a couple hundred for a gallon of paint. Then you have the primer which is also pricey. You also have a choice between a single stage which uses the color coat as the topcoat, or a two stage paint which requires clear coat. I just rebuilt an old shaper and did a paint job with Omni paints which I found fairly easy to use. I almost forgot they are two part paints so you have to buy catalyst as well. I think I spent around $200 for a quart of epoxy primer and a quart of topcoat with the corresponding cans of catalyst.
From contributor M:
I would contact the local Sherwin Williams to see if they can do the copper color in their All Surface Enamel. It's an oil base that's pretty tough. I've painted a lot of wrought iron and even bathroom walls with it (in institutional settings). It can definitely be sprayed although it's really viscous, and does take a while to dry. It’s a great product though.
From the original questioner:
Thanks for the replies. Hammerite has just the stuff I was looking for.
