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ID jit
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Location: SE New England: zone twilight or 5b... hard for me to tell some days.

Best Color for Outdoor Containers ???

Am building 8 SIPs for strawberry plants which will be outside. (2 built and 6 half done). Containers I have are fairly thick, and I believe UV resistant. Problem is that they are black which isn't going to help the mix and roots stay cool.

What's the best color and paint to paint them with?

My best guess is: https://www.truevalue.com/product/Fusion ... n%20fusion

Guessing gloss white would reflect the most light and heat. Krylon Fusion is the only stuff I have found that will seriously stick to plastics long term with out extra prep work and primer. (Really do not like the 2x coverage stuff that is suppose to bond to plastics. My experience showed me you get double thick coat over half the surface area. and it ends up with the usual rattle can issues.)

Was looking at the flat tan (which would probably look better with the container on racks of PT 2x4's), but I am not paying $20/can for flat tan paint labeled "camouflage".

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks much.

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Allyn
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Location: Mississippi Gulf Coast - zone 8b

I don't see where the paint is rated for outdoor use. Is that a problem? Also, your plastic is UV resistant, but is the paint? Will that cause a problem down the road?

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

It is hard to paint plastic with regular paint. If you are worried about the pots getting hot it should not be a problem until the temperatures hit the 80's. If the pots are not hot to touch they will be o.k. To insulate the pots it is easier to double pot or group pots together so they can help shade each other. the other thing that does work is to get sheets of styrofoam and wrap them around the outside of the container. It doesn't look pretty but it works. If you have an old cooler it makes a good sip and it is already insulated.

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ID jit
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Location: SE New England: zone twilight or 5b... hard for me to tell some days.

Allyn wrote:I don't see where the paint is rated for outdoor use. Is that a problem? Also, your plastic is UV resistant, but is the paint? Will that cause a problem down the road?
Krylon Fusion satin black is commonly used to re-blacken old car trim and bumpers that are too faded to respond to anything else. When I stripped and rebuilt my 92 GTI 6 years ago I used it on the wheel arches and bumpers. Car has been out side since then and driven daily with next to no fade and no issues with the paint.

The nice thing about Krylon Fusion is that if you do repetitive light coats while the previous coat is still tacky, the object doesn't look painted or there is no build up to see.



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