Painting terracotta pots a pale ochre

I will be painting some terracotta pots for an outside area of my garden and I have seen the sort of colour I am looking for on some photos posted here: @CatDouch - your front garden painted wall looks dreamy and I am hoping to find this sort of paint colour. I wondered if you might remember the paint shade name or number and the manufacturer? I think I saw photos from May this year in your south facing front garden. Your wall looked like a pale ochre, but am not sure. Thanks so much in advance.

 

I've used masonry paint on pots @ClematisDbee , but strangely, it didn't work well. Fine on the house!
I've often used some of the fence/garden furniture paint on terracotta, which has been better. Worth taking a look at those too.

 

My mum as always painting her terracotta pots but the paint inevitably peeled off. I suspect it’s because of the damp seeping through the pot from the soil/compost, something that won’t happen on your walls (hopefully). Maybe if you waterproofed the pots first that would prolong the lifespan?

 

Thanks @fairygirl that is a helpful tip. I have been testing indoor emulsions on some plastic pots outdoors. Not the right colours, but still there on the plastic pots, a year later, despite the rain!

 

Thanks @Butterfly6 , I can imagine that could happen, especially if the pots were very open to the elements or in damp shade etc. I am not too worried if the paint comes off for this particular project though agree no one wants to be getting that sort of paintbrush out for constant touch-ups. Was she using particular paint shades, do you know?

 

I PVA ed some of mine before using the masonry paint, but that didn't make a lot of difference either. No idea why some stuff works better than others.
Perhaps sealing the inside of the pots would be better. Might try that!

 

You could put your plants in ordinary plastic pots and fit them inside your painted terracotta pots @ClematisDbee. That would keep the inside of your terracotta pots drier and improve the waterproofing quality of the paint on the outside. I've just used Ronseal Garden Paint on some wooden garden furniture. The instructions state that it's also suitable for terracotta but I haven't tried it .

 

I'd just paint inside and outside to stop damp coming through from the inside.
PVA might work as a sealant, perhaps diluted so that it soaks into the clay pot.
You would need the waterproof one though rather than the cheap stuff.

 

Hi @ClematisDbee thank you for your lovely comments the colour we have on our wall is Dulex Weathershield Cornish Cream, hope that helps.

 

Thanks @Plantminded , that is a great idea. I am thinking of having seasonal annuals and perennials in the pots, so having the inner pots would work very well.

Good to know you found Ronseal worked on wood. I do have some wooden pieces to paint later. Should I try Ronseal on terracotta, I will try to remember to post back here.

 

Thanks @pete, that is very helpful, especially as the rain seems to be a permanent fixture in my garden, rather than just a fairly regular visitor.

 

Mum was into blue, every shade of

 

Thanks so much, @CatDouch for your fast reply. I am really grateful! I haven't had much chance to spend so much time on here so far this year, but your garden wall always stayed in my mind, both here and on GW. I remember thinking it has such a calming and soft effect, letting your lovely flowers sing. I am happy the colour is still widely available...going to check Dulux very soon.

 

Here’s a link for you to compare the range of Ronseal colours @ClematisDbee:

Garden Paint

 

The PVA I have came from a builder @pete, so it's pretty good. I've sued it successfully for various things outside. I did a small terra pot yesterday, but it was too wet later on to do any painting outside, so the top coats will have to wait, or I'll have to do them in the shed.
Your masonry paint is just slightly darker than mine @CatDouch. I'm not sure I liked the colour on pots, but I might experiment with this small one to see if it's better after the PVA coat on the inside.
I think all my wood paint is Cuprinol @ClematisDbee, but some colours also seem to work better than others. The black Ducksback stuff for fences and general timber, is quite good, and the grey one I have for smaller areas has worked well on pots.