Painting Your Rain Barrel

Posted on April 24, 2016

While we love the old blue and white barrels, sometimes they might not go with your home or garden's aesthetic.  But what can the environmentally concious gardener do? It may be time to consider painting your rain barrel...

If you want to use outdoor acrylics to paint your rain barrel you need to prime and top coat your plastic barrel.  Please note: this works better on the blue barrels than white ones!

• Clean the exterior surface with a 1:1 mixture of vinegar and water.
• Use a fine grade sandpaper to “rough up” the surface of the barrel. (This helps the paint adhere to the plastic barrel.)
• Vacuum the barrel’s surface, then rinse barrel with clean water (static may try to hold the fine dust) and dry with a lint free cloth (or leave it in the sun to bake)
• Apply at least one coat of outdoor primer (2 coats are better - even for white barrels). Primer must be allowed to dry per manufacturer’s instructions.
• Paint barrel and allow the paint to dry completely.
• Apply two coats of polyurethane. Allow the polyurethane to dry between coats.

Tried other methods that worked for you? Tweet or post them so you can inspire others!