Painting PVC Rod Tubes ? ? ?

[waynep]

Hi All,

Not sure if this is the correct forum, didn't seem like rod building was quite right, so here it is.

I have one PVC (black thick stuff) rod tube for a rod I built. I have no problem sticking an expensive fly rod in a $4 PVC tube I made. It's stronger than most commercial rod tubes. I have another rod with no tube and I am going to build another, so two more PVC tubes will be joining the stable.

That said, they are a bit ugly and I was thinking about sprucing them up some with some "custom" paint job by myself. I may even go to the hobby store and find a airbrush for some detail. Have not decided on that. I assume I'll give it a light sand job to scratch up the surface for accepting paint well.

My main question is what kind of paint? ? ? ? I have standard latex house paint but that does not seem like the thing to use. Nor the cans of rustoleum. Maybe some spray enamel? Hobby paint?

Have any of you painted your PVC tubes? Let's see pictures!

Did you over coat them with some sort of sealer after painting?

-wayne

[Flyandtie1]

I give them a light sanding first so the paint will stick. I then used some rustoleum krylon paint for plastics. Spray can.

After sanding I painted it while hanging, and then left it to dry. After drying I coated it with another coat and let that dry. after the second coat dried I put a clear coat of spray paint on it for protection.

[crazy4oldcars]

There is a paint made specifically to paint plastic. It comes in a rattle can, and MAY be made by Krylon. I remember the ads from a while back. Never tried it, though.

Kirk

[flybinder]

If your tube is, (as you said), "thick and black", it's ABS sewer drain pipe, not PVC water pipe. ABS is actually a softer plastic than PVC and will take sanding and painting a little bit differently.
My rod tubes are white-PVC, so I don't bother painting them. But,my roof top 'Toon rack, I made from the ABS pipe and DID paint it.
I used fairly "soft" sandpaper, to roughen it, about 120grit. Then, two coats of gray, "sandable" primer. (sanding between, primer coats with 400grit and after the final coat before applying paint).
I then used Krylon's spray paint made for plastic. Then, as also mentioned, finished off with two coats of clear acrylic spray. It's held up, remarkably well now for 3 years!
Because the pipe is black, most paints, if you don't primer it are not going to show the same final results, (color wise), as they would if the pipe were white to begin with.
Plus, rattle can paints, plastic, and/or, regular just adhere better to a primed surface.

[waynep]

Yea mine is ABS, I forgot the type when I posted. Since I have a couple more to build, I'll compare prices of ABS to PVC and maybe do the new ones out of PVC. I'll look for the Krylon plastic paint . . . thanks for the tips!

-wayne

[flybinder]

If you look of for the PVC pipe,Wayne, buy what is inked along the pipe's length as "Class 200". (It's a pressure rating of the pipe). "Class 200" PVC is half the thickness of ABS, or the more common "Schedule 40" thick, PVC. It's more, than tough enough, for making a good rod tube and a lot lighter in weight!

[Jayatwork]

Here is how I remember the type: ABS = All Black Stuff

[nighthawk]

I been thinking about this myself. I have several rods without tubes. Thanks guys.

[danoinark]

I paint my class 200 pvc with Fusion, that's the Krylon paint for plastic that you were discussing. I paint them with two coats as said before. I also 'spruce' them up with fish decals that you can find in hobby stores, etc. I also use a light coat of clear spray which gives it a bit of a sheen and protects the paint and decals. I also make labels with my name, address and type of rod.

Dano

[Buddy Sanders]

Guys,

I've made about a hundred of these (used to sell custom built fly rods).

Plain old WalMart brand spray enamel is VERY easy to use and VERY durable.

Since I'm in the beautiful American SouthWest, I wanted my tubes (rods too, but that's another issue) to have a SW flair. I spray painted them gloss black with the WalMart spray enamel. I took some enamel wallpaint in a turquoise color and 'stippled' it onto the tube with the end of a stiff 'stencil' brush, giving the tube a mottled appearance. After that all dried I put two coats of the WalMart spray enamel 'clear' over it. Looks like the tube is made from turquoise. Many of these tubes are over ten years old, have been bounced around in the back of the truck, and the finish still looks good.

I plagairized this 'technique' from a friend of mine who makes metal furniture and metal wall art. He uses the same spray paint and finish coating/technique on patio tables, chairs, and wall hangings and told me that this 'cheap 96 cents a can' spray from WalMart held up better than most of the comercially availalbe coatings and finishes available to his industry.

It's really good stuff.

By the way, I used both ABS and PVC and found that all you had to do to get the paint to 'stick' was rub the tube down with a white or grey Scotchbrite pad just before spraying (rub it down then spray right away, don't 'wipe' the tube off after teh Scotchbrite)

Good Luck!

Buddy