Painting mesh black?

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davlee
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I think I read on here to paint mesh with gloss black acrylic. Wouldn't non gloss (mat) be better?
Anyone regretted painting the mesh black?

Dave
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matcho
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Davlee,
I think any dark colour or black does the job. Being a lazy bugger when I built my new aviary I wired it with with a dark green wire that looks like it is plastic coated, looks good and does the job great. No bullsh.....g with rollers and painting.

Ken.
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Rod_L
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as mentioned, any dark color will do and it doesn't matter if it's gloss or matt finish. Matt will have less glare.

If you are painting zinc weld mesh, you need to prime the wire first. I think I used vinegar and basically washed it with that. Do a google search for natural primers to use on zinc products. Leave it over night then wash with water. Allow to dry then paint. You can use a normal primer if you like but they cost a bit and require 2 parts. One is a cleaner and the other is the primer.

If the aviary already has birds in, then only clean, prime, paint one section at a time. Oil/ turps based paint works and lasts better than water based, but you might not be able to find it.
*NB* fumes are bad for birds so be careful using vinegar, primers and turps based paint.

The advantage of painting wire dark is to make it easier to see into the aviary. The only problem you have is if the inside gets painted too, then the wire is less noticeable to the birds and there is more chance of them panic flying into it.

The same thing can be done to your front security door on the house. But you paint the inside of the screen dark so it's easier to see outside. Paint the outside of the screen a light colour so it's harder to see in.
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Craig52
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Acrylic paint is best imo, the darker the colour/ gloss or low sheen the better. It dries in 10 minutes or less, doesn't give off toxic fumes and lasts for years.
You can now buy under coat and top coat all in one so no prepping needed. I originally used a cheap dark grey acrylic fence coat that you get in 10 ltr buckets on the wire and some bare timber inside the aviary which worked very well and lasted more than 6 years on the wire and much longer on the timber work.
A cheap 100mm foam roller is all you need to use, do the inside first then the outside. By the time you get to the outside the inside paint will be dry. Craig
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arthur
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A better idea is to give your wife a roller and you do the inside at the same time / area as she does the outside . . that way you don't miss any bits

'Snow-blindedness' can be a problem


Provided, of course, that she is agreeable :silent:
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BrettB
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I painted my wire before I put in on the frame, saved a lot of splatter and was easy to do.
Definitely prefer it to unpainted wire, worth the effort

Brett
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vettepilot_6
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I have used matt in the past..gloss water based acrylic is the go... glare none ....😉
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shnapper20
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ive sprayed mine with reasonable success, Im guessing quicker than rolling but it would be possibly more wasteful.
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davlee
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vettepilot_6 wrote: 19 Mar 2018, 04:53 I have used matt in the past..gloss water based acrylic is the go... glare none ....😉
Did the gloss water based give a better result than matt with viewing the birds?

Dave
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davlee
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Does anyone see an issue with painting the outside only? The aviary already has birds.

Dave
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