I bought new super gourds with starling resistance holes this year and thought it would be a good thing to paint the inside a dark color.
I heard through the Forum , that Krylon Fusion was the the way to go. so I got Hunter Green and painted six gourds yesterday, today I decided to put the porches back on, and in doing so I discovered the inside covered with scratches. I could scrape the paint off with my fingernail . it said on the can ( the no-prep,superbond paint) I'am hopeing someone on the forum who has used this product can tell me what I did wrong, because it sure didn't Bond to my supergourds
Thanks for helping me out.
Vic
Vic, I have never used that brand, but I sprayed dark green into my gourds last year and they are still looking ok...Before I sprayed, I cleaned the inside with pvc cleaner, put some on a rag, and wiped it as best I could. The cleaner makes the plastic a little bit soft, and then maybe the paint would stick. I heard much praise on that brand of paint
Don't feel bad, the old general rule about the plastic gourds is that nothing sticks very good to it, the mfg says paint will not stick to it.. It seems like every imaginable thing has been tried, some with some success, but most was a waste of time.
Hello Vic,
I painted all my gourds too with the same paint but tan instead. I washed all gourds with dawn dishsoap and rinsed out very good and let air dry. Then painted two or three times over and it stuck well! I let them dry overnight then add pine straw and all the other gadgets! I did notice that the sharp pointed edges of the straw will scrape some paint off too but not much. I just repaint over next year and that will fix the problem. Thanks John!
Hi,
I bought some supergourds for my bluebirds, which by the way, they loved and sucessfully bred in. I decided to paint the outside to make them "match" the garden. I used a plastic primer spray and then painted with the krylon. The paint still scratches off in areas which chaf such as the top where it is tied and the enterance where I have put the sparrow trap on occasion but all in all, the paint has lasted at least one season in full sun. I don't plan on painting them again this year because they still look pretty good. Perhaps next year. If anyone out there has painted a supergourd sucessfully, please let me know too!
Vic, I've had good results painting the inside of plastic gourds with Krylon Fusion paint. The KEY point is most plastic has a "greasy" surface when it is new. I'm sure a chemical engineer who works in a pvc plastic plant can tell us why. If you just paint the inside, straight out of the box as you perhaps did, you will get results similar to what you describe with the paint not adhering well.
If you scrub the part of the plastic you are going to paint with hot water and ammonia, or some other "degreaser", until the plastic surface feels "squeaky clean", then when totally dry, the Krylon Fusion sticks very well indeed. You could probably use hot water and dishwashing soap. You don't need a lot of paint spray, as a matter of fact a light quick spray does much better than a heavy spray to the point of dripping.
He who harbors the nesting bird shall have health and happiness all the year
Martin Colony History: I moved to South Florida, from Delaware, in August of 2015.
I care for a 6 condo Sunset House as well as two Deluxe Gourd Racks, with 24 Chirpynest/Excluder gourds, along a canal in Pompano Beach, Florida.
At Quiet Waters Park, nearby in Deerfield Beach, I care for a Deluxe Gourd Rack with 12 TVG's. I also care for a Deluxe Gourd rack with 12 Excluder gourds with Modified Excluder entrances. I am substituting 6 Chirpynest boxes for 6 of the Conley II entranced gourds in 2026.
At another local park, Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek, I care for a Trendsetter 12, 5 gourds rack with 60 Excluder gourds with Modified Excluder Entrances and 1 Deluxe Gourd Rack with 12 Troyer Vertical Gourds with Starling Stoppers over the Conley II's to keep out smaller starlings.
I painted 6 of my Supergourds and Troyers, on the inside, with the dark green Krylon for plastic paint. I wiped the insides of the gourds out well with paint thinner first. The paint stuck well but I notice that I can scrape it off easily with my fingernail. I hope that I have not created a problem for the martins. Do not know if the scrapings would be toxic if ingested of not.
Does anyone have any suggestions for making the insides of the of Supergourds more rough? The floor is so slick.
