Painting Tool Handles

Losing tools is expensive.

Paint is cheap.

Misplacing my loppers brought the condition of the paint on their handles to my attention.

Before.

Two things are important to the functionality of this kind of paint job.  One is to have a reflective base layer.  In this case I am doing a re-paint and I already have a white, enamel base coat.

The second important thing is to have a way to prep the surface so you get a good paint-to-paint bond.  Tools that get used have their surfaces contaminated with oils, grease, pitch, sap...and so on.  I find it easier to keep track of a bag of steel wool than to keep track of sand paper. I think either works just fine.  Wipe down surface with clean towel to remove dust before painting.

Much better.  It should be good for another three years.  You can see on the top handle, near the grip, where a label peeled off and I sprayed florescent orange-over-black.  The difference in brightness is even more pronounced in real life than it is in the photo.  That illustrates the need for the reflective base coat.