Painting a logo on a metal shop?

lanae1979 · 05-11-2012, 01:39 PM

Help!! I want to paint my logo on the side of my metal building I do painting on gourds and canvas but have never attempted to paint on metal and I want it to last! So I need to know what kind of paint I would use and do I need to prime it or seal it and what would I use for that? the metal building was painted when they installed it I am not sure what kind of paint it is? This is a brand new building. I really hope someone can help me with this!! thanks in advance! LaNae

sdsester · 05-11-2012, 02:48 PM

If it is painted, you will not gain anything by priming over the paint. Make sure it is clean though.

Then I would use One Shot Sign Painters Enamel. It is an alkyd and is nice because it flows nicely and will not crawl. Paint stores may have it but if not your art supply store should have most colors or can get them in a day or so.

Another option if you plan on it being very large and it is intricate? Output it to vinyl and apply that to the surface almost like a large decal. Some sign shops have the capability as do places like Fast Signs and even larger Kinko's. The folks that do vinyl wraps for vehicles will certainly be able to handle the task.

lanae1979 · 05-11-2012, 02:53 PM

it's not gonna be large enough to do the decal, I am wanting to hand paint it. I haven't decided exactly what is going to be on it probably the name and a picture. I work with acrylic paints so I really don't know anything about other paints or how to seal them. is there anything other than the sign paint I live in a pretty small town with just a little hardware store so not sure if they will have that kind! thanks for the help!

sdsester · 05-11-2012, 05:46 PM

If you rough up the surface under where you will put the paint a bit with fine sandpaper I should think something like 100 percent acrylic artist color would work. Liquitex is the brand I know best in artist color. When in doubt, try a bit on a low corner somewhere to confirm the adhesion. Some sort of UV clear coat will be a good idea although 100 percent acrylic color generally has fairly colorfast pigments.