Painting The INSIDE Of A Steel Building

Fuddyduddy1952 · Dec 9, 2022

One last thought. A couple years ago I decided to have my strongpanel garage white roof painted. $9,000 for new roof vs $6,000 painted. It really wasn't that bad, mainly tree limbs rubbed ridge vent and cupola. I trimmed limbs way back and could have touched it up myself, but instead hired a highly rated professional. They used quality Sherwin Williams products but it was a huge mistake. They pressure washed, prepped, used etching primer...but it peeled.
Mold grew, then within a year redid it which didn't help.
I'm sure inside would be better, but as the building contractor said who built garage strongpanel has a baked on finish and they've never seen a good paint job on it.

alexpops · Dec 9, 2022

Ditto on Ospho, problem with painting metal is no tooth and contraction/expansion from heat changes. I'd go with a paint for metal (auto/implement/etc.) not latex or something made for wood/gypsum. Do the Ospho treatment, rub down the good areas with a green scratch pad to dull it & give it tooth, then primer base coat and one or two topcoats in color preference. Air or airless sprayer for the primer topcoat applications. Lot of work for a good looking/lasting job. Other alternative is simply OSpho the bad areas & paint only those to blend into existing "good" areas. Almost as much work & the color match probably won't. Finally, just spray the rusty areas with Ospho (pump bug sprayer is fine). Leave it to do it's stuff & you wind up with blackish purple or greyish spots instead of orange rust. Shouldn't get worse like rust could. Your shop/your call.

MF243RedTop · Dec 9, 2022

If that's just galvanized sheeting a product like Ospho will etch it. You wipe/spray it on. Leave for about 1/2 hr then wipe/wash it off.

Rusted areas leave on for 24hrs before prepping for paint. Wipe converted areas clean with mineral spirits.
Link

Ospho

Use a good brand of paint for metal.. I tend to stay towards a enamel when doing metal

AnthonyGarcia02 · Jun 21, 2023

CADplans said:
I built my shop back in 1999.
I got a really great deal on all the steel, including the siding material.
The reason for the great price was that the siding had sat a while, and some rust had formed on the inside surface of the steel siding.

I put the siding (and roofing,, all similar material) on the building, but, I never got around to painting the inside.

Now, over 20 years later, the inside still looks like the day I put the siding up,, some rust..

The main reason that I never painted is that
1) painting buildings is not my favorite job
2) in the summer, it is usually too hot to do that type project.
3) in the winter, it is usually too cold to paint.
4) it is just a shop,, it does not "need" to look too pretty.

Well, I have been cleaning up the shop lately, and Hmmmm,, some paint would look nice on the walls.

I was thinking that rolling on Rust-Oleum, or Tractor Supply paint might be best,,

So, I have some questions
A) is rolling on the paint the best way to apply the paint?
B) is 45 to 65 degrees F too cold to apply paint?
C) should I use Gloss, Satin, or Flat paint? And what is the advantage of each?
D) maybe I should "leave well enough alone", and not paint,, it may be worse than it is now??
E) should I use japan drier? It is supposed to make enamel dry faster, Hmmmmm.
F) what brand of paint should I use?
View attachment 773716 View attachment 773717
Also, here are a couple pics of the 16X27 foot area of the mezzanine,, the entire building is 57X45 and up to 22 feet high.

What Would YOU Do??

I think you should get a professional customized painter, Few months back, I was in the same situation for my own warehouse and I took help from a customized art company that reviewed my warehouse and created 6-8 different diamond paintings in different positions. Now my warehouse looks complete with art and it looks too trendy. I think you should try it at once.