What's the best way to "purple paint" land?

Soilman

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
What is the easiest/cheapest way to apply purple paint to trees on a 100+ acre tract of land?

Spray paint from cans? (I imagine this could get expensive)
Gallon can of exterior and a paint brush? (heavy and hard to lug through woods without spilling)
Is there any way to put exterior paint in some kind of sprayer, like a garden sprayer, for application?
Any other suggestions?
 

buckmaster79

Guest
I have a buddy who builds decks I get his scarp deck boards cut them 10 inches paint them all at home load them in book bag a drill and screws and hit the property lines it looks a lot better then just painting the trees all up but everybody does it different landowner loved it
 

PPosey

Twelve Pointer
I used spray cans and the paint is thin, hard to get good coverage on tree bark,,, It works just not great, have to reapply every year to keep it bright
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I used spray cans and the paint is thin, hard to get good coverage on tree bark,,, It works just not great, have to reapply every year to keep it bright

exactly my experience too..I wouldn't recommend this method at all. I ended up taking white aluminum flashing and painting it purple with the spray can paint, cutting that into the right size and nailing it to the trees with aluminum nails to satisfy our landowner posting requirements. So far it's lasted 2 years and is still bright and purple...lots cheaper than buying posted signs and it doesn't give the local tresspassers any round letters to shoot at. :D
 

Lou

Eight Pointer
Best way I can think of is to get a 5-gallon bucket, put in 1 or 2 gallons of paint at a time, and use a 1" nap roller and one of these screens in the bucket to roll off the excess paint before you paint the tree trunks: http://www.mscdirect.com/product/de...__15557577904_c_S&026=-99&025=c&item=51012789

This type of setup works great for painting chain link fencing, and I think it would work fine on tree trunks as well.

By putting only a gallon or so of paint in the 5-gallon pail, you won't be splashing any around as you walk through the woods, plus the weight will be manageable to carry.

Lou
 

Mike Noles aka conman

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
Tractor Supply has a good heavy paint in the spray cans. It's what we use on the walk about areas. Road frontage (easy access), we use a 4" paint roller with paint in a 5 gallon bucket. We slop it on pretty heavy and usually have to remark every 3rd year or so.

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Longrifle

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I watched the guy from Weyerhauser marking their boundaries one day. He cleaned a good bit of bark off of the side of a pine tree that faced away from the property with a machete and used a 4" roller. He had a helper carrying buckets of paint....
 

curdog

Ten Pointer
Contributor
I'm not sure about thinning it, since I never tried it. The boundary marking paint I've used is very thick and worked well. I did mark one section of line with thinner (non boundary) paint, I think it was intended to paint curbs or something, and it looked horrible from the paint running down the tree. The supervisor at the time was ill and made me and another guy repaint it. We just used the paint he told us to use, but it was our fault for him trying to be cheap.
 

pcbuckhunter

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Half a dozen migrant workers with a 5 gallon bucket of paint?

Doesn't sound to awfully tiring to me...

J/K.... I don't have a clue...
 

shadycove

Twelve Pointer
Lowes spray cans work just fine, very very bright, $4 a can, a case [$48] will paint a long boundary line [3 cans did 30 acres]. Repainted after 1 year and then 2 years later [still looks good enough for this year]
 

Larry R

Old Mossy Horns
I bought a portable battery powered spray gun from Lowes Hardware. It's quite similar to a battery powered drill with a pint can close to where the drill chuck would be. I carried a gallon of paint and marked a lot of trees. When that gallon ran out I went back to the truck for a second gallon can. I bought it about two years ago and if I recall it was on sale at the time and Lowe's gives a military discount so it was really cheap and a heck of a lot quicker than a paint brush or roller.

I think I used exterior paint, had them mix the right color for me. I do recall that it was pretty thick.
 
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poppop

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I bought about 30 cans of purple spray paint on clearance at Ollie's I believe for a dollar a can. A can goes further than I thought it would. I also bought three gallons off exterior wood paint on clearance at Wal Mart for $10 a gallon. I took it over to the paint section and chose Royal Purple (I think) and they mixed it free. I have more paint than time right now.
 

hunter

Eight Pointer
Contributor
I used to have to carry a paint can around a lot to do some spot painting. Finally figured out that running a short piece of garden hose over the handle saved a lot of wear and tear on my hands. Worth trying if you find yourself carrying a gallon of paint through the woods.

Hunter
 
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