We have some pipe bollards outside that have lost their coat of yellow safety paint. I asked my contractor more or less how much it would cost to repaint all five of them. The ballpark figure was about $800. That seemed a bit steep for me. The can of paint is roughly $30 a gallon.
So, I had one of my custodians go with me to see if we could do the work in-house. We had some leftover paint. The can was almost full. So we looked for a paint brush and stir stick.
We learned several things.
First, we learned that you should not paint on a windy day. It will send drops of paint flying everywhere.
Second, oil-based paint is very difficult to wash off the brush and off your hands. We need to learn how to wash the brush when we are done painting.
Third, it requires more than one coat. We will have to go back and paint again once the wind dies down.
Finally, the reason the paint on the pipes flaked off is that there is a coating on the galvanized pipe. This may be left over from the factory where the pipes were made. We may have to wipe off the coating or sandpaper the surface so the paint sticks a little better.
I didn't expect that we would just go out there and get the job done without a hitch. Having worked as a Facility Manager, I recognize that some jobs aren't as simple as they appear. However, this trial was meant to educate me and the custodian who will do the work in future. Now I need to do some research and buy some of the supplies we will need to be self-sufficient in painting our outdoor fixtures.
