# painting fiberglass columns



## carm (May 6, 2006)

Need some input on finishing new fiberglass columns. Paint, primer, prep. Exterior use.


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## vandyandsons (Dec 23, 2008)

you're in luck as I did 8 of them a couple weeks ago at a new construction holiday inn.

they were brand new.

Heres how I did it:

1) Sand with 80 grit paper
2) Primes with latex ICI gripper primer.
However, any *high quality* bonding primer should work fine. Make sure it will work on fiberglass though. Check the info.
3) Finish coat with any good exterior product. 

the columns I did were pretty huge so I used a 1/2'' sleeve.

you can topcoat with any exterior product as long as you get the primer right.

gotta go for now. 

Both the Bulls and Blackhawks have playoff games tonight and need my attention. Plus, my pizza should be here any minute.


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## WisePainter (Sep 16, 2008)

vandyandsons said:


> gotta go for now.
> 
> Both the Bulls and Blackhawks have playoff games tonight and need my attention. Plus, my pizza should be here any minute.



You are all that is man!! Did you get testosterone and motor oil on that pizza Sir?


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## katoman (Apr 26, 2009)

We had tons of them on a new subdivision. Painter used latex primer and latex finish. All failed the next year. I did some research and found for fiberglass there is a special primer, like they use on boats. I'm no painter, was assit. super on that job. All those posts were stripped, primed with the new primer - sorry I don't remember the brand, and re-painted.


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## carm (May 6, 2006)

thanks for the replies. I've done quite a bit of work on boats and was going to paint them with Imron. After reading the instructions from the column manufacturer, they suggest acrylic latex, I thought the imron might have a chemical reaction with the column fiberglass and weaken it.


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## WisePainter (Sep 16, 2008)

XIM latex is amazing for adhesion to slick substrates.


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## ModernStyle (May 7, 2007)

The UMA or ICI's Gripper both work great, I do prefer the XIM UMA , but either one is fine and the Gripper is cheaper


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## Frankawitz (Jun 17, 2006)

You might want to check out Ironclad it's a Benjamin Moore product it's a self priming paint two coats and you should be fine, I used it on a steel garage door and three entrance doors and a colum it was metal, the stuff comes in oil and latex, good luck


www.frankawitz.net


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## vandyandsons (Dec 23, 2008)

WisePainter said:


> You are all that is man!! Did you get testosterone and motor oil on that pizza Sir?


blackhawks loose

bulls win in tripple ovetrime:clap:

hell yes i enjoyed my Chicago style, deep dish, sausage and pepperoni, have to use a fork and knife until its been widdled down to managable size pizza pie.

i ate the rest for lunch at work today, thank you very much.


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## BryanG (Jun 16, 2009)

XIM is the best product on the market by far!


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## Workaholic (Feb 3, 2007)

I always use a oil primer on those fiberglass colums, then use quality top coat of my choice. 
Failure is more common if you use a latex primer.


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## Ruski1106 (Jan 22, 2019)

Most important is to sand the entire column. These steps are very thorough: https://royalcorinthian.com/painting-fiberglass-columns/.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

could be close to a record for resurrecting an old post...:whistling


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## avenge (Sep 25, 2008)

griz said:


> could be close to a record for resurrecting an old post...:whistling


He just beat his own record. https://www.contractortalk.com/f8/exterior-fiberglass-columns-39032/


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## baritt (Jul 6, 2020)

Hi guys, let me share you my first hand experience with fiberglass painting and staining.

I work for a fiberglass door manufacturer name Epic Doors and we searched for good product for years (working already 13 years in that company). Before year of two some new firm called Trucoat.Us came at our office presenting their paint to us. We tried and guess what? Since then we use their water based products called for painting and staining our fiberglass doors. It is made specifically for fiberglass doors so it doesn’t require any special primers, is super durable and lays down really smoothly.

It Worth checking! We are super satisfied with it!


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