How to Paint Metal Lockers
Lockers are a necessity for schools of all kinds. As a facility manager, it’s your responsibility to maintain them properly throughout the years, and they require a certain amount of upkeep, such as fixing dents in lockers, tightening latches, and scrubbing away rust. Unless you have plastic lockers, they also need to be painted every once in a while, so they can continue retaining the aesthetics of your school.
However, when it comes to painting metal lockers, there are a few important steps you’ll need to take. To successfully paint your school’s lockers, you’ll need to follow these crucial steps.
Picking the Right Time to Paint
When it’s a busy school day, finding the time or the space to paint any metal lockers can be tricky. That’s why it’s always good to embark on a locker painting project during a holiday break or during the summer, when there’s only a few faculty and staff in the school. That way, you won’t have a lot of interference with rows of students heading to class. It’s also beneficial during a low occupancy day because of the VOC emissions that will be put off from the painting.
Choosing the Right Place
Now that you’ve got your time to paint, you need your place. Find an open area in the school that you can paint. It will allow you to have the room to paint multiple lockers, so you can start getting the job done. That way, you can reinstall the lockers quickly. You can paint the lockers where they stand, but you’ll need plenty of tarp or drop cloth coverage to prevent any paint from getting on the floor or the wall.
Painting Your Lockers
Before you start painting the metal lockers, you’ll want to use a paint primer that’s designed for metal. It will help the paint stick while providing some much-needed protection to the paint once it dries. Before beginning to apply the primer or the paint, you’ll need to make sure that the lockers are cleaned thoroughly, so there aren’t any imperfections once you’re completed. When you paint the lockers, you’ll need to apply multiple coats to make sure that the color matches on each locker.
Why Plastic Lockers are Better
Metal lockers are very durable and reliable storage compartments for the students. Sometimes, though, their maintenance, care, and upkeep outweigh their usefulness compared to plastic lockers. The constant maintenance and repainting certainly adds to the locker’s costs. What you need is a reliable locker that doesn’t require the constant upkeep while retaining its appearance and durability.
HDPE plastic school lockers are a great place to start because they don’t require a paint job. They’re available in a variety of homogenous colors that will stand up to the elements. Plastic lockers don’t require as much up keep as metal lockers, and can actually outlast metal lockers because they don’t rust. If there’s graffiti present, too, it can simply be wiped away.
Do you want to learn more about HDPE plastic lockers and how they can save you time and money with your school and maintenance? Check out this free eBook, The Ultimate Guide to HDPE Plastic Lockers, from your friends at Scranton Products.
