I mentioned a few times so far that we’ve been in the process of refurbishing our garden and a few rooms in the house. Like many people during lockdown, we took advantage of staying at home to do bits and pieces we’ve postponed. This meant that for last couple of months I’ve painted lots! For outside I’ve used Cuprinol Garden Shades for different purposes and, as I was happy with it, I thought I should share my views on it.
I tried Cuprinol Garden Shades on different materials: plastic, wood (both raw and treated), concrete, glass. The pictures do not always show the exact colour, as I took them with my phone, but that’s not the point anyway. Cuprinol Garden Shades comes in a lot of colours, all cute. I bought two: Natural Stone and Willow, and both look great.
Cuprinol Garden Shades is available at many DIY stores, such as B&Q. On the website, the people at Cuprinol say that it is designed for wood. As I mentioned already, I used it on different materials and it works good. I’m not sure how long lasting it will be though. So far I’m happy with it.
In the picture above I show the small fence between us and a neighbour, painted in Willow. I painted only 2 coats and before that it was a dark colour, but it was covered almost perfectly from the first coat. The plastic pots are for “second chance plants”, the ones I’m not sure they will make it, but I gave them a second chance. If they survive, I will replant them in a raised bed next year.
You can also see, in the left side of the picture, a concrete post and a wooden post (raw wood), both painted with Natural Stone. It works great. I’ve painted them twice and the coverage was great, again. It is resistant and so I’m very pleased.
Here is the plastic pots, painted in Willow two months ago.
If you do not remember my post on Upcycled plant pots from June, here is a picture. The mint grew rapidly in their new, bigger pots. In the background you can see the colour of the fences.
This is the conservatory, painted on the outside with Cuprinol Garden Shades – Natural Stone. We’ve painted over previous painted wood and glass, as we blocked out some of the windows. I’m happy with the coverage, now I only hope that it will last. This is also a sneak peak of my edible plants, I will talk about them later, when I will share pictures from the garden.
The glass windows are painted three times, but the wood only twice.
Lastly, the planters in the front garden. It is Willow, but it looks lighter due to the bright light. My husband made the planters from decking. It is, amazingly, cheaper than wood, but it has that lovely pattern on them. I have no idea why these are cheaper, but I’m happy because it meant we’ve spent less on these planters. We have three in the front garden, for some bushes. They look nice and I applied only two coats on these too. The decking is treated wood, of course.
Because Cuprinol Garden Shades is water based the brushes can be cleaned in water. I would suggest keeping the brush/roller in a small plastic bag, tight as closely as possible. They will retain moisture and the same brush can be used again and again without any problems. I’ve re-used both brushes and rollers for more than a week like that. This not only saves money, but it saves on waste.
Have you used Cuprinol before?
Came across your post Googling to see if the Cuprinol paint you mention works on plastic. I’ve used the Willow shade to paint a new wooden greenhouse. It’s a lovely colour but then we started to glaze it and the windows all have a piece of 2 inch thick black plastic at the bottom. I don’t like the look and would rather they matched the rest of the greenhouse. I tested an inconspicuous part with the Cuprinol paint and it took well but I wanted to check before I went ahead on the rest to see if it would maybe start to peel, fade or crack on this plastic in the sun or rain and would look a mess. How have your plastic painted pieces lasted?
My plastic pieces kept for over 2 years without any additional painting. The pots were sanded before and cleaned so they don’t have any dirt on them. For me 2 years is good, as everything needs re-painting regularly to keep it looking fresh.
I don’t have the plastic pots any more because I changed them when I updated the planters and went for bigger ones so plants have more space to grow.
Wipe plastic surface with white spirit. Allow to dry, then gently rub with very fine sandpaper. Dust, then paint. If you don’t do this painting will be very difficult
I have re painted our drive gates. Two coats of paint have soaked in. I will need ayt least four coats to cover.
Using cuprinol natural stone on my dark shed,paint is very thin and looks white to me ,I expect it’s meant to be like that 🤔
This paint is indeed thin, but I think it is very good nonetheless. On dark to light surfaces I would suggest applying 3 coats.
Beware so called terracotte colour is actually dar red and nothing like a terracotta plantpot
Thank you for letting me know.
Has anyone tried to change the colour or apply a different paint onto a fence painted with Cuprinol Shades, because you can’t without stripping the old paint off. As it has wax in the shades paint it repels water You can’t repaint unless you strip back to the wood
I just did that. I applied a blue paint over the green one. The pots were washed and I just painted the new one, without stripping the old paint. It turned out great. I applied 3 layers, but it would have been covered with 2.
Can you paint over them with a darker shade of Cuprinol afterwards?? Does it take?
I think it does. After almost 3 years, the wooden planters still look good. I will repaint them this year with another colour. I would suggest at least 2 coats.
Hello Anca, I found this very helpful post just now as I was trying to find out if despite what Cuprinol say it would be possible to paint plastic pots and maybe even our Kettler plastic “shed” thing. Now that winter has come and gone how would you say your plastic items have stood up ?
Thanks so much.
I’m glad it helped. The plastic pots are still green, after 2 winters or 1 and a half, so I’m quite impressed. I would suggest preparing the pots carefully, sand them before applying the paint.
Hi did you seal the plastic pots after painting them
No, I didn’t. The paint is suitable for outdoors and looks great after a while too.
Love all this!! This has given me some inspiration to paint our garden pots to match. We have just used urban slate on our fence and will do on decking too 🙂 thank you!
Could you tell me what sort of preparation you did before painting the plastic pots? Going to attempt some myself! I’ve given the pots a good wash and waiting for them to dry. Did you sand them lightly?
I didn’t, but I would suggest give them a light sand, as the paint will last for longer. I hope it will be a successful project. Good luck!
I used black ash on al my fences and raised borders, and fresh rosemary on our summer house and art room it all looks amazing will use again
We have just used the Sweet Sundae (bright pink) and White Daisy to paint my little girl’s wooden wendy house. It actually took 2 coats, but it is lovely and glossy. It actually goes a really long way, I’ve still got half a tin left for touch-ups and to reapply next year!
We’ve just painted our two garden sheds, greenhouse and and wooden outdoor table in Cuprinol’s ‘Silver Birch’ and ‘Urban Slate’. The two colours work really well together.
That looks beautiful! I’ve never heard of Cuprinol, but you made it work.
Y’all have really made good use of extra time at home. Your back garden looks so fresh and delightful.
I’m looking forward to hearing more about your herb garden!
I’ve not heard of that brand here. But I like seeing what you have done with it. That bench is a special favorite!