I have an outdoor iron chandelier with solar lights that is hung from a rebar post. It was made from old parts repurposed to use as a a sort of architectural feature that adds some soft light to the garden after dark. It was painted with acrylic paint and looks great right now, but I am well aware of the damage from UV rays fading colours, etc. What is the best, clear, longest lasting product that I can treat the fixture with to protect it from fading and other damage from the sun and weather??

I always treat my outdoor flower picks with Krylon UV protector, and it works beautifully, but I am not sure it is the best choice for this iron and metal feature. Christmas before last I treated my poinsettia picks with the Krylon, and it protected them beautifully through the whole season, but this last Christmas I neglected to treat them again, and by the time I noticed it, the poinsettias had turned orange---bleached by a weak(!) Winter sun, so now I will have to buy new picks for next year---about $30 wasted because I did not retreat them this year. I do not want that to happen to my chandelier feature. I hope I can treat it once and it will last for at least a few years. It will stay outside year round and needs the best protection possible. Suggestions appreciated. Thank you!

I think recoating it will be a yearly thing. I could be mistaken though, but that's what I've had to do myself with metal objects.

Could you repaint your picks? I've repainted a couple items myself and "resealed" them, but I admit, some weren't as pretty as the original.

Use oil paint on metal if you do not want to have worry about deterioration.
A proper metal prep and PRIMING, is half the battle, there are clear coats for oil based paint also that reduce sun effects.

I am experimenting with Flex seal spray on plastic coating on outdoor plant labels, seems to be doing well, says it has uv. Protection. Can find it at most big box stores. A little expensive, but goes a long ways.

Hamwild said:I think recoating it will be a yearly thing. I could be mistaken though, but that's what I've had to do myself with metal objects.

Could you repaint your picks? I've repainted a couple items myself and "resealed" them, but I admit, some weren't as pretty as the original.

Yes, apparently using the Krylon spray requires respraying every year. I wish I could repaint the picks, but they are made of a soft, velvety type of material. It might be possible to dye them I guess, but given the mess and expense of trying to dye them, which may not even work, it would probably be just as well to purchase new poinsettia picks next holiday season. The sun was reasonably bright as I put them back out. I should have known better than to do that before I could respray them. Oh, well, lesson learnt I guess. I will not do that again.

RpR said:Use oil paint on metal if you do not want to have worry about deterioration.
A proper metal prep and PRIMING, is half the battle, there are clear coats for oil based paint also that reduce sun effects.

Yes, excellent advice. I did not paint these pieces myself, though. I bought them from a lady who painted them using an acrylic paint. There was a product I heard about a year or two ago that is supposed to be just about the best protector you can buy. It was quite expensive as I recall. I think half a gallon or perhaps a gallon was around $68. I am going to have to try to find it again. Wish I could recall what it was called. It was used with boats and other things that really take a beating UV-Wise.

This is the piece. She painted it with acrylic paint--both the old fixture ad the rebar she used as a post to hang it. I may end up having to repaint it. I will at least have to treat it with Krylon or something. I have found out you just cannot risk UV damage. I knew as I put my picks out right around Thanksgiving that I needed to respray them, but I was so busy, so overloaded with so much stuff to get done that I just put it off and put it off, and then one day before Christmas, I suddenly noticed they turned orange---faded by the sun. My own fault, though. Next time, I will not put out any of my stuff before I respray it. Basically threw away $30-$35 worth of decorations unless I can figure out a way to save them. I might be able to dye them, but I am not sure it would be worth it. It might be best just to buy new ones next Autumn.

kennysh said:I am experimenting with Flex seal spray on plastic coating on outdoor plant labels, seems to be doing well, says it has uv. Protection. Can find it at most big box stores. A little expensive, but goes a long ways.

Thank you for the suggestion. I shall look into that. The Krylon I use works very, very well on cloth, resin, other plastics, etc. It is rather expensive at about $15 per can. I generally spray on three coats. You have to let each coat dry before you add another coat. Just importantly, you have to remember to retreat everything every year. I read that before. I should have known better. That is what I get for rushing and trying to get absolutely everything done by myself. I have already made a promise to myself that next year I shall start getting ready much sooner. I thought I was up on everything by putting out my picks and other decor for my porch a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, but really, I should have planned to get things retreated, etc., at least two more weeks before all of that. Christmas is the only time I do much decorating out of doors. It is special to me. Just have to do a lot better planning and executing next year if I am still alive!