[TowerTalk] Details on my camo tower paint job

[John Farber]

Things I learned while painting my tower:
1. It's easiest to paint it with the tower laying sideways parallel to the ground, fully retracted of course. You can walk along side it for relatively easy access. A good time to service the rotor and/or cables while you are at it.
2. Be sure to paint to rotor as well while you are at it, so it blends right in with the tower.
3. I used about 12 cans of spray paint and a quart or two of brush-on paint.
4. Oil-based paint sticks to galvanized steel best, but even better if you prime first with zinc-oxide oil-based primer. (I was too lazy for that step.)
5. I found Rust-Oleum, which is oil-based and comes in a satin finish (the closer to flat the better) in a color called "Spruce Green" is a very good match to most tree green colors, and is also available in spray cans, but is rather expensive in spray cans. as it's sold as a "designer color" that way. Not so in the quarts.
6. On top of the base coat of Rust-Oleum, I used some latex-based stuff, at least one can of which I got real cheap in the bargain box at a local hardware store, for like $1. I call it "butt-ugly green" and obviously somebody else thought so too after having it blended, they returned it! But it looks FB on the tower as an alternate color and helps with the "Camo" theme".
7. If you use any spray cold galvanizing, the paint will not cling well to it. Best to use special zinc-oxide oil-based primer on those parts first and wait at least a day for drying time.
8. You may find some areas flake off after a year or two, especially if you skipped the primer step. But pretty easy to touch up with spray paint-or primer and then paint, which you should have done the first time...
9. The insides of the tower rungs are nearly impossible to reach with a brush, that's why I used so much spray paint. Be sure to wear a mask when spray painting, especially the primer, as it is real nasty stuff and sure to cause a health risk with no mask.
10. When done, if you like how great your tower looks, you can thank me with "a cold one". I like Guinness!
73, John