Remember those rebar pieces you bought? Lay them out on top of some plastic to hold the 2x2s up off the ground.



The plastic protects your yard or basement from getting paint all over it.



I tried spraying the pieces, rolling the pieces, and brushing the pieces. Here is what works best.



Roll the 2x2s. Line them all up together and roll them like you would a wall. Remember to get the ends as well.



Flip them over 90 degrees and hit the second side. Space them out and let them dry. Then paint the other two sides.



For the primer, which you need to get the paint to last more than one season, you can paint all 4 sides without letting the two sides dry. They are laid on rebar and the rebar won't stick too badly. Don't worry, its only primer, not your finish coat. You will need two coats of black on top of this. Don't rush the next coats and don't skimp and only paint one coat of black, white will show through if you do. Let everything dry between coats or you will end up with sticky paint.



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You will need to get the paint out of the inside of the holes. Let it dry and use the 7/8" bit to bore it out just enough to clear the paint. (as mentioned in step 6). This took about an extra hour of time as there are nearly 700 holes I had to do.

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To paint PVC:



Ah, the PVC was a nightmare, but you know what works? A sock.



Put on a rubber glove, Latex, nitrile, whatever you like to keep the paint off your hand. Put the sock over your hand over the glove. This is your paint transfer medium or brush as it would be.



Pour some paint into a tray and put your hand in it only getting the palm wet.



Now grab the PVC and pull it through your hand. Do it twice and it should be coated fairly well (see pictures below).



Lean them up against something to dry, preferably not your house or car unless you put plastic up.



Repeat the process until all are done, or until you run out of sunlight, which was my case. I hate only 2 hours of working time in the evening.



Now you only have the primer done. You still need to paint everything twice with the black exterior latex paint you bought if you want it to look like a true iron fence. If you are going for a metallic look coming through the paint, then one coat of primer and one coat of black with the sock will give you that effect (see picture below).



Roll the 2" PVC, and use another sock on the 1/2" PVC (you will need a new sock per coat). You may also find that the sock shreds a bit. Try doubling up the sock to avoid the holes it creates.



After trial and error, I found that the roller works best on the 2" PVC vs. the sock. It gives a nice even coat. You roll vertically and spin the pipe a little at a time to get the outside covered. Shoot for only rolling the top foot to begin with. Now flip it over and roll the center up to about 12" from the top. Now finish the top. Rolling in three sections makes it faster and easier to control.



You can try to roll the 1/2" PVC if you would like. I would suggest securing the roller and pulling the PVC back and forth across it. With as many as you have to do, the sock is much more efficient, but it's your call.





For a good aged look to the wrought iron, you can paint the final coat with the hammered spray paint by Rustoleum. It is a bit pricey per can and was not in my budget, but if it fits in yours, then why not.

