GA, so I gave you one.

Also, there is a plastic primer spray that allows normal paints to bond to the plastic....car shops sell it for instance.

Why not use plastic that is ok with UV light, it might be more expensive, but saves all that painting (and possible scratching!).....could save money and grief.....

Krylon makes a very good spray paint for PVC. But, shouldn't you really paint it white?

are you doing any surface prep to the pipe?

typically extrusions have mineral oil in the plastic to lubicate the extrusion die

try an alcohol wipe?

also the surface tension is often too lowfor the paint to stick

try moving a propane torch flame over (somewhat quickly) an area to see if you can raise the surface tension and the paint will have a better chance of sticking

best of luck!

let us know what you learn?

Why don't you use either black abs pipe or schedule 40 electrical conduit [gray], which has UV inhibitors?

If you are "inventing" with the hope of creating a production item, you may wish to rethink the secondary operation of painting 'for protection from the sun and the elements'.

Beyond the time and materials cost of the paint and application, 'off-the-shelf' PVC as found in your local hardware store has poor UV resitance and only so-so thermal tolerance. Lastly, the identifying data continuously printed on the material is less than esthetic.

Consider using a UV Resistant or UV Stabilized product. Probably one of the best locators is right here in GLOBALSPEC.

Other poor uses for COTS PVC: - lawn furniture, - snow shelters, antenna masts.

Best on 'ya

It is hard to tell, but when you say that you are inventing this item does that mean that you are developing it for possible commercial sale or you are just making 1 for your own personal use. If it is intended to go to manufacturing then it should be custom made from a UV resistent plastic that has other favorable properties. If it is just one for your personal use just get some Krylon plastic paint and use an adhesion promoter and possibly a light sand before hand if you are worried about the finish.

Why would you paint PVC pipe (or PVC in general) BLACK for outdoor use?

Ask Rohm and Haas(www.rohmhaas.com) the emulsion you need for adhesion on PVC and steel. Try Rhoplex WL-51. Call Ferro (www.ferro.com) for pigment(s) to use to protect pipes against infra-red and ultra-violet. The Sun does nothing, only the electromagnetic radiation that strikes the Earth and objects absorb those radiations and create destructions. Wish you good day, Gil.

If you want to get fancy, there's a place in Mentor, Ohio that is working on powdercoating plastics.

and really, really fancy!-)

http://www2.dupont.com/Automotive/en_US/news_events/article20071024d.html

Dear REPETE!

The Mentor in Ohio sell products for certain purposes but you have hard time to learn something about paint or coating for plastic or metal. Need some serious contact with competant raw material suppliers who can direct you what to do to perform the way you want or need. Again, Rohm & Haas is a good and competant company and could sell you what you need. I do for over 4 decades, and I cannot complain. Manufacturers of products, I am one of them, we don't tell our customers how to make what they buy, we just sell them to solve their problems. All the best by your consultation with raw material suppliers, Gil.