...primping the hives (part 1)

Turns out painting a beehive takes a lot of time. There are several layers of silicone, primer, and paint that need to be put on the hives because they stay out in the elements. On Tuesday night, Rachel and I began painting the hives.

The first step was to apply a silicone to all the rough edges and nail holes. Our mentor informed us that the hives will last 10-15 years longer just by doing this. Who knew?!? Here is the silicone we used:

After the silicone dried, we applied the first layer of primer. We used an oil-based exterior primer. This particular primer was fast dry and is ready for a second coat within an hour. The hives were a little difficult/time consuming to paint. We were told not to paint the insides of the hive so that the bees would not be exposed to the primer.

On the edges of the frames are 2 holes. These are to insert pins to hold the foundation still. The pins can be expensive and are very similarly shaped to bobby pins. Cheap, straight bobby pins are about $1 for 100. Each hive body required 32 pins.

We are waiting for a drier day to complete the painting task. Any guesses on what color we chose for our hives?