How To Paint A Quonset Hut: Metal Shed Owner Explains All

Customer Patrick T. chose to purchase a SteelMaster shed to store materials and machinery as he cleared a property he recently purchased.

“We decided to build a cabin on the property. There was bare land, a lot of brush. After seeing that some of my neighbors had large steel sheds and workshops, we started looking into different options.”

Over the next few months, Patrick worked with a local excavation company to remove extra brush from the property. Then, he had a professional come in to do the concrete foundation pour. 

Patrick, his neighbor, and his 12-year-old son put the building together in about three weeks.

“We got really skilled at tightening bolts. It could have been faster with two more adults but still, it was manageable. We had a good time, we had music on and we accomplished something.”

How to Paint a Quonset Hut in 3 Steps

“Can you paint a Quonset hut?” is a question asked by many customers looking to customize their steel building. The short answer is yes, you can! 

SteelMaster customer Patrick T. is one of many customers who primed and painted his steel Quonset hut shed. Below are the steps he took to paint the building.

Step One: Buy Your Equipment & Paint Materials

Patrick invested in a nice paint spray, primer and paint. He purchased two five-gallon buckets of primer and premium paint from Home Depot. 

“I decided to spend more money on the best paint they had as opposed to going with the middle of the road,” Patrick said.

His wife chose the color of the building, inspired by a Camelbak tumbler they had in their home.

“We tried to do something that fit within the environment as well, we have ponderosa pines there and they don’t lose their needles so it’s all year-round. We wanted something with a soft, earth tone color that fit within the environment there.”

Step Two: Apply the Primer to the Building

Patrick opted to use a fast-drying, water-based, multi-surface, primer that was created to be used on galvanized and painted metal.   

“It was easy, we just sprayed that and let it dry. It dried pretty quickly, especially with a lot of direct sunlight in the area,” Patrick said. “In the same day, we were able to spray two coats of primer all throughout the entire structure.”

Step Three: Apply the Paint to the Building

The day after he applied the primer, he sprayed two coats of paint on the structure.

“It probably could have been good with one coat but just having that double-thick coat for both made me feel more at ease because we are going to get snow and light hail and we’re at 7,600 feet [altitude],” Patrick said. “The Home Depot paint department suggested the durability of having the double coats for both the primer and paint.”

Do It Yourself & Save Money

One of the things Patrick loved the most about his Quonset hut is its cost-effectiveness.

“I’m typically the type of person who likes to get my hands dirty, trying to do something where if I do a little bit of the sweat labor effort obviously I could save,” he said. “I was able to build [the Quonset hut] myself with just one other person. So we saved on building costs. Southern Colorado is not a booming metropolis or big area with a high population, so labor for just about anything there is more expensive.” 

Patrick also says the fact that he was able to build his own structure made him proud.

“It was so rewarding when you finish it and go ‘Oh man we built that.’ Aside from pouring the concrete, we did it all and it was easy. It’s a quality-made structure. I think overall I feel like I got very good value from it and I know it’s going to last forever, especially if you maintain it over the years.”

Technical Support Every Step of the Way

Patrick was also pleased with the help and responsiveness of SteelMaster’s customer service department. 

“Anytime we felt like we were a little bit discouraged we called the SteelMaster customer support line to SteelMaster and they were able to either send us a schematic,” Patrick said. “You see it on the construction manual, but what was nice was having multiple times where we reached out and talked to somebody and they explained it to us. Anytime we experienced some sort of hurdle your customer support team was able to come in and help us out.”

He says he also appreciated the post-purchase communication from his Aftermarket Specialist, Travis Ashley.

“Ongoing communication is helpful. We did buy products after the initial purchase and I was happy with that. [He] always asked what’s going on,” Patrick said. “We bought the garage door and it didn’t seem so sales pitchy, giving me ballpark options to make a decision.”