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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Revisiting The Peace Pole, Not Quite a Year Later

How well does a peace pole made with PVC pipe and basic acrylic paints hold up in the weather?

I've had a few readers as me that recently, so I thought I'd give a report on the peace pole I made last year.  You can read all about that process in my earlier post here.

Here are two photos which I hope show you how well the colors have resisted fading.



You can see some of the late summer dirt from the surrounding trees on the pole:  I did not wipe them down or clean them up at all to take these photos.  I thought you'd probably just like to see them as they are.

I thoroughly inspected the pole and found only one place where the paint was compromised--you can see that in the second photo above.  The paint has chipped in a few places from the cap.

I would guess the chips have resulted from being hit with stuff from trees--leaves, branches, and now acorns have begun to fall . I also know that I have seen birds sitting up there, so could be their claws did some of the damage.  It is also possible that when I sanded the PVC to prepare it to better hold the primer, I missed a spot.

The good news is that the cap is removable.  I can easily repaint it, or toss it entirely and run to the hardware store and buy a new one.

None of the vertical surfaces have any scratches or chips that I could find.

Overall, I think this has help up pretty well!

One important reminder regarding fading:  my peace pole is in the woods, and so stands in the shade about 90% of the time.   Even so, I invested in a can of UV protection spray, which I put on after the protective acrylic varnish.  If this stood out in the sun, I would be very sure to respray with UV protection every year.

So, so far so good.  I think the key to good adhesion of the paint to the PVC pole is careful sanding, and then wiping down the sanded surface to expose a clean, slightly rough surface.  Then primer.  Then paint.  Then sealer/protectant.

I plan to leave it out all winter (as I did last winter).  It adds a fun bit of color to an otherwise white (I hope!) landscape.

Thanks to those of you who asked and inspired this update!

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