What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[Neil Jones]

Well what a huge mistake! I tried to T-Cut the faded green panels on my 2nd hand Cube with terrible results! I washed the tub down, dried & applied the green cream as directed, & ended up with hands like the “Incredible Hulk” & I was as grumpy as him too lol.  Anyways this is because I’d looked into vinyl wrapping the damn thing & someone wanted to charge me £650 plus VAT & hoped for a cheaper solution. See my vinyl wrapping ideas 💡 attached & the mess I’ve temporarily created....... Plan B is: thinking of spraying the Cube with Hen Stencils & make a Camouflaged look in funky shades of green. I’ll have to ensure that the things I use are non-toxic & will adhere to the Cube & not flake or fade..... Does anyone have a better idea, as I’ll now have to clean all that useless gunk off beforehand.......

[ajm200]

Have you tried scouring power like cif or Bar keepers friend to remove that ingrained dirt?  The pink stuff could also be worth a try.   I have one of the original purple cubes and cleaned it with cif and a scrubbing brush as the start of the year as it had been unused since 2014.  It looks like new.  It takes a lot of rinsing to get every trace of the cleaner off 

Edited May 24, 2019 by ajm200

[Beantree]

I think the Cube is made from polypropylene Neil, which is a difficult plastic to deal with. It's rather soft and flexible which means abrasive powders can get embedded in it and be difficult to remove. It is also a plastic that can't be simply glued or painted and requires high-tech solutions for both the aforementioned. As AJM200 says, Cif and a scrubbing brush is going to be the best result you can get.

How did you get on with your brackets?

[Patricia W]

Some people have put decals on the cube.  Personally I’d live with yours. It looks like camouflaging! 

[AndyRoo]

If you get the right primer and paint, you can paint on polypropylene (as Beantree mentioned), but it requires a bit of prep first. You can buy it as a spray paint, but if you do it - I would only do the outside.

[Patricia W]

I’ve used that paint on garden furniture, Andy.  It’s lasted a season but I’ve had to redo.  I’d live with it as it is.  No problem with use and the hens won’t mind! 

[AndyRoo]

12 hours ago, Patricia W said:

I’ve used that paint on garden furniture, Andy.  It’s lasted a season but I’ve had to redo.  I’d live with it as it is.  No problem with use and the hens won’t mind! 

Oh no! I've used a primer and paint on some old plastic pots and it worked quite well for me. Though, like you, I would just leave it as is. Maybe get some decals.

[Patricia W]

This was a table top.  So had heavier use than plant pots perhaps.  But it’s good paint. 

[Neil Jones]

Thanks everyone for your input & advice: I do fancy trying to spray the Polypropylene outer & yet know for it to be successful the prep will have to be A1. Of course I’ll only do the outer, as I’d not want the Hen’s welfare to be compromised by coming into contact with anything. 

I assume it’ll want sanding, then treating with a primer. I’m thinking of painting it a solid base colour & then using chicken & egg shaped stencils: I’m hoping to create my own bird / hen themed camouflage? I’d very much love 💕 to have left it alone, but she’s so faded that the roof section is now virtually white, and unless I try to smarten it up with something that lasts, I feel it’s an eyesore. I could always just throw a camouflaged tarpaulin over that section if all else fails. 

Best Wishes all Neil 

[sarkymite]

Neil my green Mk.1 cube is also very faded particularly on the roof. But I've run a roll of heavy black soundproofing fabric over the roof and the original bit of the run, actually to quietenthe noise from one hen who likes the sound of her own voice rather too much but it also makes it look much smarter from a distance and doubles as rainproofing and shade on that section of run. It rolls back to open the roof for cleaning etc.

I think covering it with something like that or a camo. net or something else will be easier than painting it with anything. It's not the easiest plastic to work with.

Good luck though - would be interested to see your finished result.

[Neil Jones]

On 5/24/2019 at 10:30 AM, Beantree said:

Hi Beantree in answer to your question:“ How did you get on with your brackets?” I happened to find x 4 joist brackets from B&Q in the end. They hold to front to the base at 90 degrees, just enough for the sides to fit a dream: Did post a pic somewhere on here too, but long since deleted it from my phone. I’ll ping you a pic of it when I find it next. Ta Muchly!