Frothers Unite! UK

I recently received a request to produce a couple of custom outdoor gnomes... Sort of.

They're to be a leaving present for a school headmistress who likes her gardening and the gnomes in question are to be based on school kids.

Anyway, they're intended to go in the garden as far as I can tell... Would your normal hobby acrylics and varnish do well in the outdoors or am I going to need something special?

Cheers!

I'd use something "special". If it's a gnome it's going to be big and a waste of decent acrylics for a start. Get some cheap testers from homebase or summat

Ditto. UV would fade it pretty quickly I would have thought....

There are clear coat sprays that block the effects of UV light that you could put over the finished product. But if it was me, I would use paints meant for exterior use regardless.

Most acrylic paint pigments perform from "Good" to "Very good" in sunlight these days.

I'd use tube acrylics from a reputable art paint line. They should have a 'fade resistance' rating on them. The most fade prone colors are red.

Then, I would coat in a UV resistant polyureathane rated for outdoor use. Look in the furniture finishing area. The water based ones should hold up quite well. Give it multiple coats.

Sainsburys do daler acrylics. Then marine varnish them.

http://www.liquitex.com/acrylicbook/

Everything you ever wanted to know about acrylics, and more. Look for light fastness 1 on the label.

Three years ago, when we moved in to this house I did an experiment with some acrylic paint. I spray primed the tap in the back garden white. Then i brush painted it red giving it two or three coats of GW red gore, from an old old bottle. This was followed by two or three coats of Humbrol gloss coat. Three years later it hasnt faded or chipped...

Acrylics are regularlarly used for outdoor murals

We use liquitex should work on a gnome. Good info here

http://www.artsupplies.co.uk/info-mural-painting.htm