Ideal Tips to Use When Painting Your Shipping Container

In case you haven’t heard, shipping containers aren’t just for shipping anymore. These days, there’s a variety of different uses for these steel boxes, from tiny homes to coffee shops to retail stores. You may find that a shipping container is just the right size and shape for your next business or project, but it’s important to remember that these things weren’t built to be pretty—you will need to concentrate a little extra on shipping container décor in Houston, TX to make it ready for the public.

Giving shipping container new life

The trend of using shipping containers outside of the shipping industry really took off when Starbucks opened a coffee shop in Washington inside a 450-square-foot shipping container. The size was perfect for a to-go coffeehouse, and the price for the shipping container was almost certainly less than building or leasing a new brick-and-mortar space.

Shipping containers are usually 8 feet wide, 9.5 feet tall and either 20 or 40 feet long. These steel boxes are made to last, on average, 25 years with minimal maintenance. As mentioned, they aren’t designed to be pretty, so one of the first things you will want to do is give it a fresh coat of paint.

Painting process

Before you start painting a shipping container in Houston, TX, it needs to be thoroughly cleaned. These things may have been through intense storms on sea and on land, and they may show some signs of wear and tear. Cleaning a shipping container may involve no more than scrubbing with brushes and soap, if you’re lucky, but chances are it will need more elbow grease than that.

For starters, you may need to do some sanding on the inside and outside to smooth down any rough spots that have developed over time to make the surface better for paint to stick to. When you’ve finished sanding, you may want to use a pressure washer to make sure you’ve gotten all the debris off and out of the shipping container. Sandblasting is not recommended because it may remove the protective coating that will help the container last longer.

Now that it’s clean, you’re ready to paint your shipping container in Houston, TX. Make sure to paint in the morning, on a dry, sunny day. This will give the paint a chance to dry as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

The first step is to apply a primer coat and let it dry. Then choose your desired type of paint. For a clean, uniform look that’s easy on the environment, you can go with a waterborne paint system with resins and pigments that are dispersed in water. For murals, acrylic paint may be the best choice for its rich color and enhanced adhesion.

With more than 15 years of experience in the storage industry, A Mobile Box is your go-to source for new and used commercial and residential portable container rentals and sales. For more advice on shipping container décor in Houston, TX, contact us today.

Categorised in: Shipping Containers

This post was written by Writer