Time to paint a 40 year old pole building

[Budweiser John]

I知 sure this topic has been covered in the past but coating technology continues to advance so here goes the question.
Given today痴 technology, who or what is the best paint product to use on a 1970s vintage steel building?
The steel is rust free, weathered to the prime coat and originally painted red. My intent is to maintain the original color and apply the new coating with an airless spray application after power washing the building.
I知 Leary of the big box store offerings after a really bad experience with some Home Depot paint products. My all time favorite paint company is Sherwin Williams but wondering what the members here might recommend?

 

[Deere Dude]

I just did my pole barn a couple years ago and used Rustoleum Hunter (or Forest) Green. It covered great with the sprayer, I did not even question SW but if it is your fav. company, do that. I used Rustoleum because of its' reviews and my history with using it. The only sure thing is to change the steel., but if you can walk on it safely and want to do it again in 5 years, I would repaint.

 

[jaydee325]

About 4 years ago we repainted our 32x32x10 pole barn. There was some rust showing on some panel edges.

We’ve always used an independent paint shop in town. He had the paint codes to match our house and recommended paint that would arrest the rust and be durable.

Good news is the paint still looks like the day it was painted. But, quality has its cost.

 

[Budweiser John]

I just did my pole barn a couple years ago and used Rustoleum Hunter (or Forest) Green. It covered great with the sprayer, I did not even question SW but if it is your fav. company, do that. I used Rustoleum because of its' reviews and my history with using it. The only sure thing is to change the steel., but if you can walk on it safely and want to do it again in 5 years, I would repaint.

Yes, I too have had good luck with Rustoleum paint on machinery so good call. This project is only the side walls as the roof has been coated with an elastomeric roof coating last year.

 

[Budweiser John]

About 4 years ago we repainted our 32x32x10 pole barn. There was some rust showing on some panel edges.

We’ve always used an independent paint shop in town. He had the paint codes to match our house and recommended paint that would arrest the rust and be durable.

Good news is the paint still looks like the day it was painted. But, quality has its cost.

The reason for my post is to determine the best coating which I know will not be the cheapest. I got 40+ years out of the factory paint and would like to be assured what ever the new coating is, I can look forward to at least 12 to 15 years or more of service.
At that future point in time i’ll Be pushing 90 and it probably won’t matter.

 

[fried1765]

I知 sure this topic has been covered in the past but coating technology continues to advance so here goes the question.
Given todayç—´ technology, who or what is the best paint product to use on a 1970s vintage steel building?
The steel is rust free, weathered to the prime coat and originally painted red. My intent is to maintain the original color and apply the new coating with an airless spray application after power washing the building.
I知 Leary of the big box store offerings after a really bad experience with some Home Depot paint products. My all time favorite paint company is Sherwin Williams but wondering what the members here might recommend?

I have a Morton building that was built in 1984 - now 35 years old.

Morton is a first class outfit, so I contacted them for advice.
Several years ago they told me Sherwin Williams, but I don't remember their specific paint type name.
I have not had the building painted yet.
You should consider both a primer, and a top coat.

 

[davedj1]

Talk to your SW dealer and ask them what they recommend.

 

[ddbackhoe]

I知 sure this topic has been covered in the past but coating technology continues to advance so here goes the question.
Given todayç—´ technology, who or what is the best paint product to use on a 1970s vintage steel building?
The steel is rust free, weathered to the prime coat and originally painted red. My intent is to maintain the original color and apply the new coating with an airless spray application after power washing the building.
I知 Leary of the big box store offerings after a really bad experience with some Home Depot paint products. My all time favorite paint company is Sherwin Williams but wondering what the members here might recommend?

This may be of some help. I prefer SW, not sure why I do not trust the big box stores for help with this kind of stuff.

https://images.sherwin-williams.com/content_images/sw-pdf-farmagric-spec-guide.pdf

Farm/Agricultural - Sherwin-Williams

 

[rgr33]

I repainted my dads old pole barn about 12 years ago, using SW 100% acrylic. He wanted it to match his house.

It still looks good. Some day I will get around to doing my own barn, but not for a while, too many other projects this summer.

 

[Cord]

There are several manufacturers that carry a paint intended for this application. Valspar is the first that comes to mind: Valspar Metal Building Siding and Roof Finish I'm certain there are other competing products out there. This paint is a bit different from other latex paints in that this is a metal application so prep is critical to getting the paint to adhere. The surface would need to cleaned of any dirt and all loose paint removed. This can be tough to accomplish given the large surfaces found on metal building. These paints are more expensive because they are formulated to help counter the lack of proper prep.

 

[Budweiser John]

Thanks ddbackhoe for the Sherwin Williams link and others who chimed in and offered advice.
Yesterday I called at my local SW Store and by the luck of the draw the SW regional representative was in the store. We talked about the project and her (yes, her) recommendation was a product called ‘Shercryl’ acrylic enamel. As was stated several posts ago, good paint don’t come cheap but on the premises that you get what you pay for, I popped for 11 gallons of color ‘Heart Throb’ AKA as barn red. Don’t ask me who thinks up all those off the wall color names.
In a holding pattern now for a couple weeks until the product arrives and I get a few other projects off the agenda.

B. John

 

[EddieWalker]

About a decade ago the Federal Government changed how paint companies where allowed to create their paints. When that happened, a few paint companies that used to have a pretty good product, fell behind, and others came out noticeably better. Sherwin Williams and Valspar are the two that I like the best. Rust-Oleum, which also owns Zinsser and Varathane, has also been very good.

A sales gimmick that came out shortly after the big change in how paint is created was the primer in the paint campaign. My understanding is that this was done to help cover the huge increase in the cost of paint because of the new process required to make it. With some paints, it does cover better, but that is also dependent on the color you are painting, the color you are covering, and the surface that you are painting. Most of the time, you end up buying twice as much paint to get a decent finish.

Primer is still very important. It forms a better bond then just paint, and it gives the paint a more uniform finish with less paint. Primer is also cheaper then paint, so you save money using primer first, and then paint instead of two or 3 coats of paint.

Sherwin Williams has some very good specialty primers that are designed for what you are painting. Metal, wood, never before painted sheetrock are all different and the right primer makes a huge difference. Then use the paint that they recommend.

If you go with something like Rust-Oleum, which I use a lot, be sure to thin it down and always thin it the same mix every time. Your sprayer should have a few different nozzle tip sizes, but since I don't know what you have, I can only comment on what I have. For outdoor applications, to get it as heavy as I can, I max out my sprayer tip with my biggest one. This gives me excellent coverage with just a few passes, but the finish has a bit of an orange peel to it. If you want glass smooth, then you need more thinner and a smaller tip, but that's more for furniture and cabinets. Just be aware that the finish look depends a lot on how thin you make the paint and how much you apply while spraying. Test before committing to the entire building. Small adjustments can make huge differences.

 

[man00]

I think Sherwin Williams is having a 40% off sale right now

 

[ddbackhoe]

her (yes, her) recommendation ‘Heart Throb’
B. John

That must have been some conversation....:cloud9:

 

[dstig1]

As these things tend to go...Sherwin William acquired Valspar a couple years ago. Just so anyone reading this is aware...No ill intent

 

[EddieWalker]

As these things tend to go...Sherwin William acquired Valspar a couple years ago. Just so anyone reading this is aware...No ill intent

Sherwin-Williams to buy Valspar in $11.3 billion acquisition | Fortune

 

[Budweiser John]

That must have been some conversation....:cloud9:

Let痴 not get too excited, i知 No longer wired for high voltage.
Fifty two years with the same spouse gives one pause to reflect on the blessings of good cooken and clean underwear.

B. John.

 

[Chaos USMC]

Has anyone tried to restore the luster/shine/original look of their pole barn, without painting?

 

[Budweiser John]

Re: Time to paint a 40 year old pole buildingk

Has anyone tried to restore the luster/shine/original look of their pole barn, without painting?

Well, in the spirit of the US Military I think it would take a lot of ‘ Brasso’. I truly believe my airless paint gun will be
a lot simpler. Semper Fi.

B. John

 

[Chaos USMC]

Brasso, now there is an idea...! Seriously though, I can't imagine there is not a product out there that could restore some life to the fading steel on an aging pole barn structure. Not as old as the OP's, but perhaps in the 15-20 year range. EVERBRITE™ will refinish faded metal buildings and will protect from fading, chalking, rust, salt corrosion and much more
Semper Fi warrior...