I've had a few readers as me that recently, so I thought I'd give a report on the peace pole I made last year. You can read all about that process in my earlier post here.
Here are two photos which I hope show you how well the colors have resisted fading.
You can see some of the late summer dirt from the surrounding trees on the pole: I did not wipe them down or clean them up at all to take these photos. I thought you'd probably just like to see them as they are.
I thoroughly inspected the pole and found only one place where the paint was compromised--you can see that in the second photo above. The paint has chipped in a few places from the cap.
I would guess the chips have resulted from being hit with stuff from trees--leaves, branches, and now acorns have begun to fall . I also know that I have seen birds sitting up there, so could be their claws did some of the damage. It is also possible that when I sanded the PVC to prepare it to better hold the primer, I missed a spot.
The good news is that the cap is removable. I can easily repaint it, or toss it entirely and run to the hardware store and buy a new one.
None of the vertical surfaces have any scratches or chips that I could find.
Overall, I think this has help up pretty well!
One important reminder regarding fading: my peace pole is in the woods, and so stands in the shade about 90% of the time. Even so, I invested in a can of UV protection spray, which I put on after the protective acrylic varnish. If this stood out in the sun, I would be very sure to respray with UV protection every year.
So, so far so good. I think the key to good adhesion of the paint to the PVC pole is careful sanding, and then wiping down the sanded surface to expose a clean, slightly rough surface. Then primer. Then paint. Then sealer/protectant.
I plan to leave it out all winter (as I did last winter). It adds a fun bit of color to an otherwise white (I hope!) landscape.
Thanks to those of you who asked and inspired this update!
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