How to paint blinds?

[Ari]

Hi All,

I've painted this house very very light grey walls and dark grey/charcoal trims. 

I was intending to replace the awnings/blinds but a) have discovered that they're actually very good quality and b) blinds are very expensive!

So I'm thinking to paint them a plain dark grey.  They are never going to be opened so don't need a lot of flexibility, but I also don't want the paint cracking and coming off too soon.   They're an acryclic material, like a high quality shadecloth.  Not canvas.

I've used fabric paints for small projects before but they'll be too expensive for this 28 sqm job (double if I do both sides, which I should).  I'd also like to use my lovely spray gun if I could.

So my question is - is there a standard 4L paint that would be remotely suitable for this job?  It's a cheap regional house so I'm not looking for a Rolls Royce job, more Ford Fiesta.

Thanks!  Ari

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Ari,

I'm unaware of any paint designed for such a purpose. There are likely some paints that could work, but it would likely be a trial-and-error type situation. Perhaps you could add a layer of grey shadecloth over them to achieve your desired colour? The graphite, I believe, is a dark greyish colour.

Let me mention @Dave-1 and @MrSober to see if they have any thoughts.

Mitchell

[Dave-1]

Morning @Ari 

I like your thinking, and pretty much matches up to mine in not knowing a paint I could recomend right of the bat. Thining down a colour and doing spot spray tests is about all I would come up with (so its not too thick when you spray and then drys) and maybe a couple of coats?  Grey should be forgiving as in blending the vertical lines you have on the screens now.

Dave

[MrSober]

I wonder if that Plasti-dip spray would work at all? but I also think longevity is another factor as I don't think it would last long before fading etc in the elements. I have never actually used this stuff myself, but my understanding is it can be somewhat flexible but I also think the prep work to make it stick well enough would take some time.

[Ari]

Hi @MrSober - thanks for the suggestion. I think plasti-dip woukd work well, like fabric paint. 

Cost is the problem for me with these spray can products though as I have such a large area to cover. 

At this stage I’m thinking I’ll leave the existing blinds up but hammer dark shade cloth in front of them. 

Will report back!

Ari