You can find 2-in-1 spray paints that have a primer and paint in one can. You can paint tires for playgrounds with the following simple steps.
- Clean the tires with dish wash soap
- Choose spray paints
- Apply one layer, one side at a time
- Let the paint dry after each layer
You will need a primer and bright-colored paint that will reflect the sun’s heat and keep the tires cool all day. Use outdoor paint on the tires to ensure that they can withstand all weather conditions and rigorous use by children.
Schools tend to have many tires to paint, and they can save on labor costs by painting the tires themselves. There are many uses for tires on a playground, and they look adorable when painted the correct way.
You will be able to paint and decorate playground tires by the end of this guide.
Why are Tires Used on Playgrounds?
Tires are the best option for anyone looking for inexpensive materials to build a fun playground. It is simple to find old tires anywhere worldwide and repurpose them for use on a playground.
Most garages sell old tires at a throwaway price because they aren’t useful to car owners any longer.
Another thing that makes tires excellent for playgrounds is that they are durable and low maintenance. Tires can last for years without needing repairs, and annual painting works to keep them looking fresh.
Another reason playgrounds use tires is that they are safe around little ones during outdoor activities. Metal playground devices like swings or slides can cause serious damage to children when they slip and hit themselves.
A tire will barely leave a scratch on a child when he or she hits it. Moreover, tires are simple to paint and stack on each other to form a variety of shapes.
You can even take it a step further and bury tires in your playground for kids to climb on or under!
How Do You Paint Tires
Clean the Tires
Most tires come from garages with grime and dirt because of continuous neglect.
You must clean the tires thoroughly and remove all the grime. You will need a rag, some dish soap, and water for the cleaning process.
You can use a hosepipe as the water source when you have many tires to wash. Use a generous amount of dishwashing soap to absorb the grime from the tires.
Take time to scrub through the tire treads to remove every bit of dirt. Rinse the tires and place them in the open to dry off.
Choose Your Paints
The next step after cleaning the tires is to choose the colors that you need to apply. Tires are black, and they tend to absorb heat from the sun when placed outdoors.
Hot tires can burn little children on the playground, making them harmful to kids.
Painting them gives them a reflective coat that reduces the amount of heat they absorb. You need to choose bright colors like white, orange, yellow, pink, green, and any fun colors that kids will find attractive.
You will need a primer to make it easier to apply bright colors against the black background. Also, a primer will reduce the number of paint coats that you will need to apply for the colors to pop on the tires.
If you buy paints that contain a primer, you should expect to use more paint to get the colors right.
Prepare the painting area by placing some old rags or newspapers on the ground to catch any stray paint droplets. Use clean brushes or rollers to ensure that the paint is distributed evenly around the tire’s surface.
Prepare adequate space to place the tires once you are done painting them to dry. You can ask kids to help you paint playground tires and make it a fun activity for everyone.
Apply the paint on one side and let it dry before flipping the tires to apply a coat on the other side. Be patient and let the paint dry undisturbed to avoid creating streaks or getting dirt on the tires.
Dry the tires in an airy place where there is no direct sunlight. It may take a couple of hours for the paint to completely dry.
Do You Need a Primer?
For the best results, you need two coats of primer before applying paint on playground tires. You can opt to use a primer using a brush and then do a final coat using a spray can primer.
The second layer ensures that you will reach all the nooks and crannies of the tires. You need to be patient and allow the primer to dry before selecting a color to paint on the tires.
Some people can choose to skip the step and use paints that come with a primer.
Oil-Base Spray Primer, White, 16 oz
Product Benefits:
- This spray primer is versatile, suitable for wood, metal, masonry, drywall, or tile surfaces, both interior and exterior.
- It’s an oil-based primer with a white color, belonging to the whites color family, with a net weight of 16 oz.
- Suitable for mild to moderate exposure conditions, it can be applied at temperatures between 40 to 90 degrees F.
- It features a quick dry time, ready for recoating in just 1 hour. The product is proudly made in the United States.
How to Spray Paint Car Tires
Spray paint can speed up the painting process of playground tires, but you will need to take extra precautions to do it right. First off, create a designated area in the open for the activity.
Place old rags or newspapers on the ground to catch any stray spray paint. You will need to place blocks under the tires to reduce the amount of paint that spills onto the floor.
It would be best if you supported the entire tire when painting it. You may have to place the tires on blocks when they dry to avoid streaks.
On average, it takes about a few hours for a tire to dry after painting it.
Be patient and wait for one side to dry before flipping it over to spray the other side.
What Kind of Paint Will Stick to Rubber Tires?
The best paints for rubber tires are oil-based paints, and the priming tires make the paint adhere easily. Acrylic paint on tires is ideal for playground tires, and it is durable.
You have the option to use acrylic spray paints to simplify the job of painting the tires. You can choose other kinds of paints, but be ready to repaint the tires every couple of months or annually to get rid of the warping paint.
Crosscheck the quality of the paint you buy to ensure suitable outdoor activities like tires. Outdoor paint doesn’t come off during different weather changes like rain or snow.
Other types of paint will come off when they face different weather conditions, and the tires will look like someone did a poor paint job.
Solvent-Based Marking Spray Paint, 17 Oz
Product Benefits:
- Ideal for creating bold, long-lasting lines and marks on diverse surfaces such as grass, concrete, pavement, and gravel.
- The solvent-based formula is perfect for various applications, including construction, landscaping, golf courses, and more.
- The quick-drying formula dries in less than 5 minutes, covering up to 700 linear feet per can with 1″ wide lines.
- Excellent resilience against early fading, chalking, and general wear, with the capability to be sprayed in temperatures as low as 25 degrees Fahrenheit.
Can You Use Gloss Paint on Tires?
Applying gloss paint to rubber tires is a bad idea because it won’t stick as you want. Gloss paint has an extra shine to it that makes surfaces shiny.
You are better off using acrylic paints because they are cost-effective in the long run.
Do Tires Need Drainage?
It is ideal for a person to all drainage to tires before using them on the playground. The internal part of the tire can retain water during wet weather conditions.
You need to pierce three to four holes in the tires’ walls to drain the water after rain.
Conclusion
It is good to paint playground tires to give them some color and make them attractive to kids, maybe make a tire swing. Painting playground tires can be an activity for all the children to get involved in and have some fun.
Follow the easy steps above, and you will end up with beautiful tires that children will want to play with all the time.
Be patient during the whole process so that the tires come out looking clean and neat. Choose high-quality paints that will last through harsh weather conditions and stay for a few years.
Overall, painting tires for your playground will make the place look so good and fun if you have an old slide, you may want to consider painting the slide as well.
Please be careful and use at your own risk
None of the authors, contributors, administrators, or anyone else connected with BestPlaygroundSets, in any way whatsoever, can be responsible for your use of the information contained in or linked from these web pages.
