Painted Outdoor Planters - An Experiment

I love warmer weather and all the beauty it brings! This is one of our favorite planters that we fill with annuals every year.

You may remember from this post, my outdoor painted frog that's held up quite well for several years now. Well I had these lightweight planters (made from foam) that we inherited. They were beginning to break down. Of course I didn't think to photograph them but I did find an old photo of them.

They were still in pretty good shape here but the "paint" at the top was really breaking down and exposing the foam. So instead of trashing them, I thought I would try another experiment. The company, Blue Pearl, that makes the Silk Soft paint has really durable products. They are intended for walls, ceilings, trim and furniture but I always push my favorite products to the edge. So I decided to paint these planters and see what would happen.
I did use a spray primer on the exposed foam, but other than that, I just sprayed them off with the hose and let them dry.
Once dry I applied the "Pale Papaya" silk soft. I figured two coats would provide a good film thickness for outside.


Metallic painted planters

That dried overnight. I decided a red glaze would give them a terracotta look. So I use 1 part of "Salsa Red" colorant to 5 parts glaze.

Adding the glaze

I put them out in the sun to dry. BTW, Blue Pearl's colorants are excellent for exterior use so I knew I didn't need to worry about fading. I also decided I wouldn't worry about protecting the finish with polyurethane.

Before and After Red Glaze

I put them in the sun to dry. Later in the afternoon, I put the soil and herbs back in. Then the rain came. I was worried my red glaze would reactivate and run since it hadn't dried overnight. No problem. I guess the sun baked it in.
Here's how they turned out. We just have herbs in them that I transplanted so they aren't too happy right now.

So time will tell how they hold up. My money is on the paint. I'm bettin' many other things will fall apart and be discarded but my newly painted planters will still look awesome for years! I'll let you know how they are doing in a few months.
Although this is a sponsored post, my ideas for crazy uses and my opinions are my own. Thanks for following along!

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