painting hives

[jeannie]

How do y'all feel about painting hives? Is it really neccessary to paint? I don't think I'll paint my cypress hives this year. does the paint really do much for heat reflection? What do you think?

[Sonny]

White is a color that has proven itself as a great color to reflect heat. Paint also gives wood a protective shield against rain and snow. These are proven facts. Don't mess with facts. Also, a freshly painted hive shows pride.

[tecumseh]

an alternaive to paint jeanie is to dip the hives in either a copper napthate (sp?) or a hot parrifin dip. both will retain the natural beauty of the wood and give the hive's external wood parts protection from the elements. If I didn't acquire a bit of twisted joy from splashing paint on my pants, shoes, shirt and hair I would likely employ one of the above two alternatives myself.

[Michael Palmer]

That would be Copper Napthanate. I use CN for my bottoms and rim of the covers. Don't like it much for supers and hive bodies. The smell lingers for a couple years, so must be the fumes are coming off for all that time. Nothing I want in my supers.

I paint with a quality primer. Put your $$ there. Follow primer with exterior latex of whatever color. Most communities now have a drop off point for used paints. Not allowed in landfills anymore. Go to the collection place and pick out whatever light colors they have. Paint each box a different color. Looks great!

[Michael Bush]

>Is it really neccessary to paint?

No.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#stoppainting

[HarryVanderpool]

Sonny said:
>>a freshly painted hive shows pride.<<

That says a lot right there. I am proud to be a beekeeper and of my outfit.
I have a grower that complimentsour bees and hive appearance every year. His last beekeepers hives looked like a pile of junk with a bee or two flying around.
The old excuse about hive appearance has always been: "the bees don't know the difference".
That may be true, but I do.

Michael Palmer said:
>>I paint with a quality primer. Put your $$ there.<<

Couldn't agree more. I also use the best paint I can buy and give each box 3 coats. We have switched to Behr.

We have a box in use that a retired friend made when he was in junior high school. That speaks volumes about proper construction.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...n/DSC00298.jpg

[Ravenseye]

Painting was my favorite thing getting started. I treat the hives the same as my house. Top shelf primer applied carefully and with a good brush. No missed spots.....stain killer where needed on the uglier knots....re-application of primer over areas that soak it up quick. That's followed by 3 coats of top quality house paint...the exact paint that I use on the house. No runs, no holidays. You may want to keep the landing board clear as some people feel that the paint makes the surface too slippery when it rains. If you do paint it, flat offers the least slippery surface.

[wade]

One coat of good primer and 1 coat of one-coat exterior latex is adequate. That's what I do on my house and outbuildings too. If I were doing 3 coats I'd get the cheap stuff. Maybe using a sprayer vs a brush would effect the number of coats needed, but using a brush it goes on thick. I will admit though, that some places need to be touched up in subsequent years, like the edges where it was scraped with a hive tool. But a thick coat of good paint will add a few years to, and help bind together, even rotten or badly cracked wood.

[jeannie]

Thanks for the thoughts, I'll probably leave a few cypress hives with just wood sealer and paint the others. I too like looking out the windows and seeing nice bee hives sitting in the yard. Can't wait till spring!!!

[Grant]

If you have cypress, you may not need to paint them. More power to ya!

I have pine hive boxes, some home-made from recyled wood. I also have some older "used" equipment garnered from long retired beekeepers. Anything made of pine left unpainted will warp and rot. Painting will extend the life of your equipment.

While I don't mind painting, it has become a necessary evil. It will make your boxes last longer than if you did not. Cypress may not need painting however. And I guess it also depends on how long you intend to keep bees and how soon you want to replace your equipment. I can definitely see the rotted corners on unpainted pine boxes.

And color? I paint whatever color is in the mistint bin at my local home improvement store. And that, to me, shows pride. To each their own.

Grant
Jackson, MO

[hrogers]

Howdy Jeanie --

About 30 years ago I made and ran about 100 colonies in Cypress. I treated with 50% Penta
(no longer available) and 50% Diesel. I sold everything but still have a few of the medium supers -- still good and solid. I recently made about 25 cypress mediums and treated with deck
treatment.

I see no need to paint cypress, and the hives are not obvious to vandals in isolated area.

Doc

[size="1"][ January 03, 2007, 05:56 PM: Message edited by: hrogers ][/size]

[BULLSEYE BILL]

I take care of my equipment and am proud of the appearance knowing that it will last longer the better I take care of it.

That said, I quit painting my equipment. I now boil it in paraffin and tree rosin. It comes out a nice golden color and looks very nice. Some of the older boxes look like they are graying a bit but look like the gray stain sold for treating decking.

But the best part is that since it has been penetrated with wax it will not soak up moisture or rot. Now the hardest thing on my hives is my hive tool.

[Dan Williamson]

>>>Now the hardest thing on my hives is my hive tool.

LOL.... I just said that to myself the other day after I gouged a box.

[Brent Bean]

Do you need to paint your hives? NO, the only advantage is they last a lot longer before you have to replace them. So the decision is the cost and effort of paint verses the cost of replacing hive bodies. Or the fun of having a hive body fall apart in your hands when itÂ’s full of honey and bees.

[Aspera]

Bill,

I think that you have the ideal solution, but many of us are landlesss or have jus a few hives and it might not be possible to build a treatment tank. I think that staining is the second best solution, and it still looks good.

[Oldbee]

I am a little late but I have a big question! IS LATEX PRIMER AND LATEX OVERCOAT OK!! Is it even better than OIL!!?? Should one combine the two? The "painting" season isn't too far away! Thanks.

[Joel]

We have found Latex works great but use semi gloss as it reflects damaging sunlight and repels rain making it last much longer. It also doesn't get chalky. I have equipment painted 10 yrs ago that still looks great and we put our stuff through the mill moving it.

[size="1"][ January 10, 2007, 05:35 PM: Message edited by: Joel ][/size]

[Donna Marie, Honeybee by the Sea]

With this lovely warm weather (in between rainstorms) I was painting my new screen bottom boards for the two new hives I am adding to the apiary, when a honey bee landed on the screen, doing her nasonov dance and then proceeded to walk all over the areas already painted, stopping now and then to 'nasanov'...real estate speculator??

Happy Painting! Cheers D