How to Paint a Milking Parlour: Tips & Product Advice

Choosing the right wall paint for your milking parlour is key to long-term performance and cleanliness. From surface preparation to product selection, we walk you through every step of the process.

When Should I Paint My Milking Parlour? 

As with most painting jobs, the best time to get started is when the weather is warm and dry. We find that many customers paint their milking parlours between August and October when the weather is mild, and the parlour is not in use. 

Why Use Chlorinated Rubber Paint?

When it comes to selecting the right paint for your milking parlour, the top criteria should be durability. Milking parlours require a hard-wearing paint product that can stand up to regular washing as well as chemical exposure. As such, Chlorinated Rubber Paint is an ideal choice! 

💡Did You Know? Milking Parlour Paint is often tinted blue as flies are deterred by a unique ingredient specific to blue paint!

Tools for the Job: Painting uPVC, PVC, or Aluclad

Priming & Painting

How To Paint a Milking Parlour: A Step-by-Step Guide

Before You Start

Ensure the space is well ventilated throughout the process, particularly during drying and when applying chemical-based products.

Step 1: Clean

1. To ensure a flawless finish, you will need to thoroughly clean the walls prior to painting.

2. Start by treating the walls with Farbex Fungicidal Wash to remove any fungal growth such as mould, mildew, algae and similar contaminants.

3. Power wash the walls to remove any remaining contaminants.

4. Allow the walls to dry completely before moving on to the next step — this is essential for proper adhesion.

💡 Pro Tip: As part of your surface prep, you may need to treat the walls with an Acid Etch. If this is the case, please call into your nearest store where our expert staff can advise you on how to safely apply this treatment.

Step 2: Prime

5. Open the Milking Parlour Paint and mix it thoroughly before use. You can use your free Pat McDonnell Paints stirring stick to do this.

6. Prime and seal the surface by applying a thinned coat. Thin the paint by 10–15% using Tikkurila 1006 Chlorinated Rubber Thinner.

7. Apply the thinned coat with a 2.5” cutting-in brush and a microfibre roller.

Step 3: Paint Your Topcoat

8. Wait at least 16 hours (i.e. overnight) to allow the primer coat to dry.

9. Once dry, apply the unthinned topcoat using the same application method.

10. Under normal conditions, the paint should take about 24 hours to dry and 7-14 days to cure. Please note that low temperature and high humidity may lengthen drying times.

Tips for Repainting the Wall

✔ Surfaces previously painted with Farbex Milking Parlour Paint and that are in good condition can be scrubbed clean and the surface roughened to help adhesion of the new coating.

✔ Old, perished Milking Parlour Paint should be removed mechanically and treated as new substrate and prepared accordingly.

For tailored product recommendations and expert advice for your milking parlour — or any other painting project — call into one of our ten stores nationwide. We’re here to help you get the job done right.