How To Care For Fiberglass Planters

Contrary to popular belief there is some minimum maintenance required in order to insure you get a long life from your fiberglass planters and trash containers. At IAP we have two types of finishes, Fusion and Marine grade.  The Fusion finish is our toughest finish that is manufactured with real metal and as you can imagine will hold up just like the metal it was constructed from, unlike the painted finishes the metals will slowly patina over time depending upon the geographic region.  A higher percentage of salinity will accelerate the patina process and each metal will react accordingly.  The marine grade finish is a two part linear polyurethane that was developed for the rigors of the marine enviornment, compared to an automotive finish the marine grade will be a harder paint finish and have superior UV and scratch resistance. 

Both the Fusion and Marine grade finishes need to be cleaned occassionally with mild soap and water, be sure not to use any harsh cleaners and test in a non-visible area before use.  For the marine grade finish your georgraphic region will dictate the frequency that you will need to polish, in high UV environments like Florida you may need to coat once every 3 months, if you are further north you may get away with once or twice a year. We recommend a good quality marine grade coating such as 3M.  For the Fusion finish we advise using a cream metal polish like Flitz, the metal polish is also great for removing patina build up and restoring the metal finish to like new appearance.  The polishing can be done by hand or machine for faster results. 

In commercial environments damage is always inevitable, scratches are the most common and they are either deep or shallow.  A deep scratch can be determined if you run your finger nail over it and you can feel the damaged area, if it is a shallow scratch you will not feel anything. To repair a shallow scratch you can often just buff out the scratch with a compound and then recoat the fiberglass planters with a good quality wax.  For a deep scratch you will need to fill with an epoxy and apply touch up paint. For more severe damage a fiberglass repair might be necessary so please contact IAP for instructions. 

Ultimately the best way to prevent damage is to take good care of your fiberglass planters and minimize damage.  Some preventive measures would include placement, try and keep them out of areas that they are likely to incur damage.  Keep them clean of pesticides and hard water damage.  When moving them around be sure not to pull them by the lip.  These simple steps will hopefully prevent unwanted damage and insure you have a long life cycle.