Fading paint/enamel

[dadiOH]

Man, it is a hose bib handle...take it off, dip it in whatever, shake it, hang it up to dry. Repeat when it fades.

[SeaNymph]

That makes sense. It's not a work of art.

[Don Y]

And fish all of the pooled paint out of the recess that fits over the valve stem.

And how's that any better than just buying an aerosolized paint?

[clare]

I'd use a brush and save a lot of mess and paint - a tap handle usn't big enough to have brush marks show very much. With an acrylic latex put a wee bit of Flood Floe-Trol and the brush marks totally dissappear.

[Don Y]

Airbrush. It'll use half a *thimble* full of paint -- less than would get *stuck* in the bristles of a REAL brush (or drip off the work)!

I'm going to talk to an artist friend who just did an "outdoor installation" (lots of vivid colors on 3D objects) and ask her:

- how long she expects the colors to hold up (being in the sun in a public space 24/7/365)

- what she used to ensure that longevity

[clare]

Most of them are powder coated, likely with an epoxy thermosetting (the cheapest type and not really recommended for outdoor use) powder that fades quickly and weathers pootly. Acrylic and Flouropolimer thermosetting are the best thermosetting - and Nylon is the most common thermoplastic.

The commercially available knobs are generally red (for hot water) blue (for cold water) , yellow (for natural gas or non-potable water) and Green (potable water-common for external irrigation etc)

[SeaNymph]

Lots of people have put in their 2 cents worth. You're free to proceed with whatever seems to work best for you.

[Don Y]

Yes, and they also tend not to be very interchangeable. E.g., gas valves tend to be "stops"; you don't turn the gas on "just a little". So, ball valves. OTOH, if you expect the valve to do metering, then a ball valve will fail in short order!

[The style of knobs on each varies based on the valve style; have a look!]

My first thought was just to buy "replacement" *knobs* of particular colors. But, different valve stems, manufacturers, etc.

E.g., I selected large "knobs" as small knobs seem to be harder for aging hands to grasp (it's unlikely that I will be getting YOUNGER!). As well as some other mechanical constraints dictated by the locations of each, mounting style, etc.

Rather than add all those criteria to a wish list -- with ZERO chance of finding "assorted colors" AND those constraints, I simply found something that addresses the mechanical constraints (I can *change* a COLOR, but not a casting!).

Now I'm stuck with that color changing aspect of the problem...

[Ameri-Clean]

Buy spools of ribbon and tie a different color to each bibb. When the ribbon fades simply tie on a new one.

[Vic Smith]

Try dollar store nail polish.

[Paintedcow]

There's a better solution. The Sun is the main cause of fading. We must unite and petition the government to destroy the sun. Nasa has the ability to send a rocket to the sun, filled with nuclear bombs. The sun will be blown to pieces once this rocket explodes.

Once the sun is destroyed, we will no longer have to worry about fading paint.

If however, you own stock in solar energy devices, sell your stock before they launch the rocket, because it will soon be worthless!