Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Refinishing concrete and fiberglass outdoor water fountains
Q. MY OUTDOOR WATER FOUNTAIN IS IN BAD SHAPE AND NEEDS TO BE REFINISHED. the water area is all white from hard water. What type of paint are used when they paint water fountains and where can I buy them
kenneth Lameiradesigner - San Jose , California, USA
2007
A. Hello Kenneth,
First you should pressure wash the entire fountain and hopefully also remove the calcium buildup. If the buildup is stubborn you may need a muriatic acid based cleaner and have to scrub it out. Don't forget safety guidelines. If you want a natural concrete look concrete sealers are available at any hardware or home center store. If you want a color paint, a swimming pool supply store can hook you up with a reliable paint.
Process Engineer - Syracuse, New York
Unfortunately the pool vendors in our area only have blue and we need an antique white.
- Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Q. My outdoor fountain when purchased had a beautiful variegated finish ... it now looks really bad, dull with large areas of what appears to be the concrete base. It had been pressure washed to remove surface green slime but each time it was done the look became increasingly worse -- glaze is gone! Help! How can I restore it and what is needed? Thanks for any help/suggestions you may offer.
Joan Brandt- Moss Point, Mississippi USA
February 10, 2013
A. Hi Joan. You won't find it possible to re-touch this, and probably won't be able to do quite the same kind of glazing as they did in the factory. How are your skills at mosaic tiling? :-)
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. I just purchased a small water feature and I think that it must be fiberglass. It had been painted dark gray with what looks like a brass antiquing.
I would love to restore that paint and color and thought about using a concrete stain that has a primer, color and seal, but I don't know what to use for the antiquing. Can you help? Thank you
Flo Vos- Frederick, Colorado
May 25, 2013
A. Hi Flo. Fiberglass can be tinted as it's made, and that may have been the situation with the gray portion of the color. I'd bet that your standard outdoor paints like Rustoleum and Krylon are available in brass tones, and they may stick to the fiberglass depending on exactly what resin it is, and its age.
A possible alternative is simply patina solution. This is a copper-bearing solution which should work fine if it sticks.
A final idea might be to get some gel-coat (the shiny outer layer on fiberglass boats) and try that. I don't think you'll find brass tone, but maybe mixing yellow and brown will be better than nothing.
Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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