Be Creative – Customise Your Weathervane!

Style, taste and personality, these aspects of our lives require some form of individuality. Most people who possess a unique style have bags of creativity which is often admired by those around them and here at Cuckooland we are no exception to this, we love it when our clients get creative! An email from our customer, Don Asher created utter amazement at Cuckooland HQ as he proceeded to tell us all about his latest creation, a fully customised Weathervane! Don wrote;

“My old sailing boat weather vane was past its sell by date so I needed a replacement. As I am involved with heritage railways I thought I would look for a British outline steam locomotive. Yours was the only one available apart from one other very expensive model.

The Mid Hants Railway did have a locomotive of this style painted as ‘James the Red Engine’ for a number of years. So there is a precedent.

Attached is a photo of my model railway ‘play pen’ as suggested by the long suffering Mrs. Asher. She loves the new weather vane. Some of my friends think it is very appropriate that the weather vane came from Cuckooland!”

Stream Train Weathervane

As you can see by the picture Don did an amazing customised job on his steam locomotive weathervane and so this has inspired Cuckooland to pass on some tips for turning your weathervane into an individual work of art.

How to Customise

Whether you’re a fan of dogs, small woodland creatures, automobiles or even tractors we have a weathervane for you. Our stunning range is sure to have something that will appease even the most disconcerting of customer.

Once you have a weathervane befitting of your own personal style then you can look to customise your creation. Our weathervanes are hand made in Britain and finished with a High Density Polyethylene coating, a substance which helps to keep your weathervane looking its very best all year round. After a little bit of research we have found that the best paint to use is an acrylic based paint this is because an acrylic based paint stretches as it dried to evenly coat the Polyethylene surface. We recommend the following points to getting the best out of your customise paint job;

  • Remove all grease, dust and other substances which may have come into contact with your weathervane. We suggest using warm, soapy water, rinse well and make sure the surface is completely dry before proceeding.
  • Use a fine grit sandpaper to score the surface, this will allow the paint to ‘grip’ onto the surface better.
  • Prepare your work space by placing sheeting or newspaper down; it’s always worth putting on old clothing to avoid any unwelcome accidents.
  • You can use a variety of methods for applying acrylic paint to the surface, a roller, brush or spray-paint will all work equally well. Acrylic is flexible and will expand with the Polyethylene to prevent any tearing in the paint work once dry.
  • Choose colours which are a good representation of your own unique style, having a weathervane adorn the top of your house will let visitors see your creative side and leave them wondering “just where did they get that quirky weathervane from?”
  • Apply a thin even coat and wait for this to completely dry first. Next apply several coats allowing each new application of paint to thoroughly dry before applying the next.
  • To keep the weathervane looking fresh and new we recommend repainting it every year. A little bit of maintenance goes a long way for your customised weathervane.

For a comprehensive guide to painting a Polyethylene coated weathervane, check out the handy guide from eHow, which has hints and tips on how to paint and preserve your polyethylene coated weathervane;

We would like to say a huge thank you to Don Asher for the brilliantly inspired weathervane.

Here at Cuckooland we love unique and quirky creations so if you have a truly magnificent piece of creative genius around the house, share your tips, photos and suggestions with us either by phone +44 (0) 1305 231231 Mon-Fri 9-6pm or email customerservice@cuckooland.com. If it’s truly unique like Don’s we may even write about it in our Cuckooland blog!

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