Post #733556 by sfj54 on Sun, Dec 21, 2014 9:30 AM

I am a retired scenic artist from Seaworld and have painted my share of PVC 'bamboo'. I sanded and primed the PVC first, painted on yellow ocher color (usually made with raw sienna & white) then I used tinted glaze to faux the top colors. The shop I worked in always had bottles of tint and we used Behr clear glaze in either mat, satin or gloss.
Just mix the tint into the glaze until you get the color you like and you can either use a sponge, a brush or whatever works best for you to apply the glaze to the PVC. I always started out light handed and added more color if needed. When the top color dries you can go back and with a paint brush, paint on the 'nodes' or whatever those sections are called. Be sure to add highlights and shadows on the nodes for realism.
The faux bamboo poles that I painted were covers for existing poles in the parking lot of Discovery Cove so they were outside 24/7. I never used oil based paint because the glaze seemed to protect the paint.