How do you paint your boxes??

[Dave360]

 i like Ted n Ms's idea about using saw horses and a board i have been using a picnic table with tarp so can only paint half at a time so with board i could paint whole box

   Thank Dave

[fish_stix]

I have a Graco airless sprayer. We stack them on a sheet of Visqueen on the ground and fire away. With latex, by the time you get to the last stack, the paint has dried enough to second coat them. For cleaning the sprayer we just put a water hose in a 5 gal bucket and let it run. Lock the trigger on the gun, lay it on the ground, and let it spray until clean water comes out. Clean the pump filter and DONE! If I am only painting 10-20 boxes I just stack and roll them, brush the dadoed handle recesses.

[hardwood]

Here's a little walk through the nuc jungle

http://s871.photobucket.com/albums/ab277/hardwood01/?action=view&current=nucs003.jpg

That's my friend Jesse (S&S Apiaries) putting the finishing touch on 100 or so nucs today.

http://s871.photobucket.com/albums/ab277/hardwood01/?action=view&current=nucs001.jpg

Scott

[schawee]

i stack 8 high and use a paint roller.   ...schawee

[Michael Bush]

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesdipping.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#stoppainting
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnotinvented.htm#notpainting

But back when I did paint... I'd stack them up and roll them...

[eastsidebuzz]

i stack 8 high and use a paint roller.   ...schawee

Ditto Foam Roller. It gets into the cracks and cavities much better.

[buzzbee]

Also,if the boxes are stacked upside down,it;s easier to paint the hand holds.

[KD4MOJ]

Thanks for all the great ideas folks!

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

[VolunteerK9]

I decided last night to paint my boards first, then cut to size, dado, rabbet etc, then put them all together. A little touch up painting and thats it. No more boxes stuck together by painting them. I think it will be much easier and less time consuming.

[buzzbee]

I stack my boxes and do not paint the edges that meet the next box. These e dges are covered by another box most of the time.

[Soapstone]

I stack my boxes and do not paint the edges that meet the next box. These e dges are covered by another box most of the time.

The problem we have with this is that the crack between boxes draws in moisture through capillary action and is plenty big for enough air to get in to promote rot (at least up to the point where the bees have propolized the crack). We have some two year old boxes with unpainted edges that are showing initial signs of decay after only two years of really wet weather, while older boxes with painted edges are still in good shape. Painting the edges is a pain because you can't stack the boxes for painting without a separate operation on the edges. Also, hive tools will eventually scrape the paint off of the edges in spots when separating boxes.

So, how many of you guys paint the edges? Any time-saving tips here for more than a few boxes?

[kathyp]

i paint the edges.  when the sides are dry, i tip the boxes up and go around the edges on both ends.  my only tip is to buy cheap paint and don't try to be neat 

[Dave360]

i have been painting the edges but it makes the boxes stick together even if i let dry a couple  days last ones just used primer on edges still sticking have resorted to putting wax paper between this works well stacking them for use but when i put on hives still stick ? maybee  if they dry for months ?   

[manfre]

Either a spray gun on the air compressor or a brush, depending on how many boxes. Either way, I stack them vertical and do 2 coats. I only use oops rack paint.

[Robo]

Rope between two trees and a spray gun.  Get all sides and edges at once.

[bee-nuts]

I sneak mine into my neighbors pile when he is painting.  He never notices.  Very efficient and cost effective.

Just kidding. 
All I can offer for advise is try to think of anything else you need to build and paint if you can and paint it all at once.  I really dont like painting a few things and having to come back and back again to get your three coats.

Ohh I do have one good tip. 

If using a roller, wrap it in a plastic bag (they one you got when you bought it) with some paint on it (Meaning dont run it dry, then stick it in the bag) getting as mush air out as possible, and air tight as possible.  This allows you to use the same roller over and over and over without ever cleaning it.  I have came back a month later and paint was still wet.  I think I used three rollers all summer and painted probably over twenty, maybe thirty times.  I also use an empty paint pail with water in it and just throw my brushes in it so I can be lazy and not clean them when done.  When I need them I rinse off the paint and shake as much water off as possible and I find they work just fine.  I actually think by not letting the paint dry on the brush that they last longer.

If someone alreay mentioned the bag trick, my bad cause I did not read all the posts.

[KD4MOJ]

That's pretty cool Robo!

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

[danno]

Nice color Rob!!  What is that salmon?   I paint 8 to 10 at a time stacked up with a foam roller and floor paint.  This paint hold up well.   A couple of years ago I made a 2 story botttomless garden hive to cover my well head and stained it with deck stain.   It has not faded abit and was so easy to apply 

[KD4MOJ]

Robo's boxes looks like red barn paint... that's the kind of paint I use.

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

[Michael Bush]

How I paint mine:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesdipping.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#stoppainting

    "The hives need no painting, although there is no harm in doing it if their owner wants to please his own eye. The bees find their way to their own hives more easily if the hives do not all look alike. I rarely paint mine, and as a result no two are quite alike. Most have the appearance of many years of use and many seasons of exposure to the elements." --Richard Taylor, The Joys of Beekeeping

    "I suppose they would last longer if painted, but hardly enough longer to pay for the paint." --C.C. Miller, Fifty Years Among the Bees

    "Following the teachings of G. M. Doolittle, in whose ideas I have great confidence, I think there is better chance for the moisture to dry out of unpainted hives than out of painted ones. I have seen a painted hive in my cellar damp and moldy when all the unpainted ones were in much better condition."--C.C. Miller