I used it on mine and no problems so far. I did paint the edges of the boxes so water can't get in behind the paint. No problem with them sticking together as long as you let them dry well before stacking.

 

it was very strange and half frozen. the paint had allowed the water in but held it like a balloon. none of the other boxes from that lot had the issue. hoping its the only one

 

I don't use it

I just don't trust it but that could be me turning into an old guy. I was a housepainter at one point and tend to stick with what I know.

They do sell just paint and just primer but it isn't something they push. I had to do some digging to find their interior stuff that was just paint, Behr I300, for a house project.

I just painted another batch of boxes a few weeks ago and used oil-based enamel (aka Rustoleum and others). I remember that oil-based paint held up much better to the weather but cleanup was a bugger. One of the reasons for latex popularity is that it cleans up much easier with soap and water. I just loaded some grey RustStop primer, then paint into my cheap HF gun and sprayed it. I think it looks rather nice.

The HF guns are less than $10 so I think of them as disposable but I do try to use them a few times.

 

Re: I don't use it

I just don't trust it but that could be me turning into an old guy. I was a housepainter at one point and tend to stick with what I know.

They do sell just paint and just primer but it isn't something they push. I had to do some digging to find their interior stuff that was just paint, Behr I300, for a house project.

I just painted another batch of boxes a few weeks ago and used oil-based enamel (aka Rustoleum and others). I remember that oil-based paint held up much better to the weather but cleanup was a bugger. One of the reasons for latex popularity is that it cleans up much easier with soap and water. I just loaded some grey RustStop primer, then paint into my cheap HF gun and sprayed it. I think it looks rather nice.

The HF guns are less than $10 so I think of them as disposable but I do try to use them a few times.

i'll have to ask someone else when I go in. the guy I talked to confirmed what I was seeing on the shelf which is just the 2in1 stuff. only had cheapo primer and no paint that I saw. I prefer to paint twice and give 2 coats of primer if needed. saves paint.
I had an oil project I was doing. picked up some brushes at harbor freight so I didn't have to clean them. 3 bucks I think for a stubby 2inch. awesome. not one bristle came out. just as good as my purdy 20 dollar brushes.

 

Re: I don't use it

I've had no issues with it...I bought a gallon of Behr exterior primer/paint (mid-grade priced) after I exhausted the first quart that I got when Alison got started a year and a half ago, and it's held up very, very well. Our overwintered boxes look "new", outside of hive tool scrapes and a little bee-poop. I bought the 'new' paint because we preferred a particular color to blend in with our landscape and paint from the 'borg was fine for that. (I normally use SW or BM paints for more critical needs)

As an aside, I do not paint the box edges, however. The bees seal things up pretty good and we don't need any more "stickiness" from blocking. (the tendency of latex paints to stick together)

 

Re: I don't use it

I buy all our paint at HD. Behr is good stuff but save yourself some money. Prime with a coat of Zinsser and finish up with a couple coats of Lucite semi-gloss. Really pleased with its durability.

 

Re: I don't use it

2 in 1 paints and even the latex primers work fine with perfect wood conditions. that is hardly the case so they fail. mill glaze has to be removed from the wood, dryness of the wood has to be right, pine can be sappy and that needs to be dealt with.
Then there is the technique of the applicator, more often than not a thick coat fails. Cure time between coats is important.
Paint for a long enough time on enough objects and most realize there is a noticeable difference between quality paints and cheap ones, same with brushes.
Not all claims on the paint can label should be believed, especially the cheap paints.

Oil primers and paints may be a pain to clean up but they take a licking and are forgiving of technique and the state of the material being painted.

 

Re: I don't use it

2 in 1 paints and even the latex primers work fine with perfect wood conditions. that is hardly the case so they fail. mill glaze has to be removed from the wood, dryness of the wood has to be right, pine can be sappy and that needs to be dealt with.
Then there is the technique of the applicator, more often than not a thick coat fails. Cure time between coats is important.
Paint for a long enough time on enough objects and most realize there is a noticeable difference between quality paints and cheap ones, same with brushes.
Not all claims on the paint can label should be believed, especially the cheap paints.

Oil primers and paints may be a pain to clean up but they take a licking and are forgiving of technique and the state of the material being painted.

I have never raised the grain before applying finish with the exception of water based finishes. Mill glaze huh? Never run into that before. I'll hit them with some sand before painting

 

I used a Ben Moore version called Aura or something on a house a few years back on trim. Never again it bubbled in several spots and will need to be re done.

To me the best is oil primer followed by latex top coat. The flexibility of latex helps in our application.

 

I have used Behr paint/ primer and it has worked very well. two coats and it is very nice and last for 7 years and going here.

 

+1 on what Clyderoad said about the mill glaze. Paint your boxes like you would your house and you'll get better results. A little prep goes a long way in the longevity of any paint job. Wrap your brushes in plastic wrap and store in a zip-lock baggie between coats and you'll save a lot of clean-up time.

 

Re: I don't use it

Sandpaper - that's the cure for mill glaze. Mill glaze is the term for the smooth, slick, shiny finish on wood. The knives used to process the wood also beat the pores closed and the paint won't soak into the wood. Sanding will open the pores and allow the paint to stick.

 

As a painting contractor I very rarely use self priming paint. The more you ask of the paint the more reasons it has to fail. Plus in the big picture it is cheaper to by a prime and a good top coat.

 

I'm doing it all wrong I guess. I usually put on 3 coats of exterior latex and call it good. No primer. I put the boxes out in the sun and let them get good and warm, then roll on a coat. The wood usually "sucks" up the first coat really well, then I add another. Sometimes, depending on how long I've had the boxes prior to assembling, the 2nd coat will also obviously soak in some as well, and the 3rd coat seals it off and gives it a shine.

 

I've been using the Behr ultra paint and primer exterior flat. Two coats and done. So far the boxes are holding up real nice but they have only been out in the sun for three months. I look for the little sample jars they sell marked down to $.50. It is enough for the entire single deep, bottom board and top. If I like the color,I can get another mixed for $3.65 and do another deep and two supers. All my hives are different colors. Makes mamma happy.

 

Mis-tinted deck paint, especially oil-base opaque or semi-transparent. The best material I have found recently is Cabot's semi-transparent or opaque material that is oil-base, one-coat, period. The instructions even say take everything else off before using if it's not raw wood, then paint it once, no re-coating. The mis-tinted version was somehow an olive drab that looks absolutely great in my yard. Couldn't find that color in the book or anything like it (mis-tinted severely, apparently) when I bought a full-price gallon to use on a project.

On a different note, my out-in-the-elements mailbox post is made from a 6x6 treated timber that I rounded up to look like the pillars on our Southern Colonial porch front. I painted it in 2004 with two coats of Olympic oil-based exterior deck primer followed by a coat of paint, and it's still going great. I wish I could still find those Olympic oil-based paints.

Michael

 

Thanks for all the replies. I'll be shopping for some good ole fashion primer and paint separately. Might have been my prep but I think i'll give a few years for this magic paint to prove itself before I continue with the 2 in 1. Good hints on the planer stuff. I've never noticed that building or using my planer but in retrospect I usually stain things and/or do a final sanding so guess I was opening the pores while I did it.

 

I sand the exteriors of all the boxes and other woodenware I build "just because", but there is an added benefit with mitigating the "slickness" that pine typically has as mentioned above. Since I don't do "volume", I also fill fastener holes and any minor gaps, etc., prior to paining...it's an anal thing with me, but does help with keeping a nice, even, smooth coat of paint on the boxes.

 

I prime with oil base Zinsser and two coats of latex paint. I get the oops mis tint premium exterior paints. Regardless if paint is regular latex or a paint and primer , I still prime with Zinsser. Full sun , brutal heat and humidity or cold wet and hot and wet it works for me.

 

I buy Valspar paint from LOWES. They have separate exterior primer/sealer and an exterior topcoat called Stormcoat . Around $24-$25 range per gallon.

 

after 6 - 7 years i am noticing it's the the finger joints and in particular the end grain parts that are becoming problematic.

so on new boxes and when refinishing old boxes i am sealing the outside corners with 2 part polyester resin like that used for working automotive fiberglass. on the new boxes the resin serves as glue as well.

after the resin dries the boxes get a light sanding and the corners are sprayed with white rustoleum primer.

after the primer dries i'm using two coats of white mid grade exterior behr primer/sealer in one.

i'll let ya'll know in 6 - 7 years how it worked out.

 

We spray and backroll the end grains on the corners. Seems like that's what it takes to seal them up properly.

 

I have had mixed results with all in one primer/paint. As others have said if the material is perfectly prepped, it seems to work well. Anything less and you may have problems. As a result,I no longer use all in one on exterior jobs, but will still use in some interior jobs.