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  Discussion on A cheap way to make white dressage cones
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Member:
gldilox

Posted on Sunday, Apr 22, 2007 - 8:20 pm:

I started pricing dressage letters/cones around Christmas. For a basic set of eight, they went from $90 for metal arena letters to $150 for cones to $350 and up for heavy duty polyethylene towers.

I have been using a collection of orange traffic cones - well, they were orange at one time but had faded to a dull mildewed peach. My handy husband suggested painting them and the results were amazing!

We purchased some cans of Rustoleum Specialty Primer for Plastics white spray paint (the type made for plastic lawn furniture). It was under $5 per can. Scrub the cones to remove dirt and mildew and let dry thoroughly. Apply a couple of light coats of paint, allowing to dry between coats.

Buy a set of vinyl stick on dressage letters (about $15) and apply to dry cones. I did all eight cones using two cans of paint.

I've been using my set for about five months and have had no problems with peeling paint.

If you don't have cones to start with, you can try the method my friend, Kim, uses: she picks up abandoned cones from the roadside, ditches, wherever. Certainly not from a construction site, though! Pick up some other litter while you're there and everyone wins.
Member:
ajudson1

Posted on Sunday, Apr 22, 2007 - 9:17 pm:

What a great idea!

I am assuming those are the hard plastic cones?

I bought some soft cones at Menards. They are bright orange and hold their color really well. I bet there is a spray paint even for those soft ones. I don't care what color mine are, but maybe someone else can find the soft ones at a local home center and save some $$$ too.

The soft ones are safe and I like to use one to teach a horse to lower his head while mounted: they lower and lower and sometimes pick the cone up and toss it!!!
Member:
gldilox

Posted on Monday, Apr 23, 2007 - 8:00 am:

I have the soft cones like you are describing - the paint works great, even when my horse deliberately stomps on one of them.
Member:
corinne

Posted on Monday, Apr 23, 2007 - 9:51 am:

I just did this this week....great minds think alike. I had a set of the outside eight metal letters but needed something for RSVP for our outdoor arena (t's multiuse and we need to move them for jumping etc)TSC was having a sale on the 18 inch cones that had a white reflective strip for $6...the orenge (sp?) color is fine for us. Went next door to Hobby Lobby and got the Stick on adhesive letters six sheets of letters for $3 in various sizes in black. I put the standard R and S and V and P where they belong but under the R and S I have placed a smaller L and under the V and P a smaller L and on the metal stick in the ground ones I used from the same set of stickers and put a small G on the M and H, an X on the B and E and D on the F and K. Now we have all 12 plus can work on the geometry needed for the first level and up tests using G,I,X,L,D I think the cones with the Hobby Lobby letters for $3 look nicer than the stick in the ground ones and will be easier to place and remove when the summer hits and the ground around the arena gets too hard to stick the metal ones in. White is nice but Orange doesn't look all that shabby since it has that white reflective strip where we put the letters.
Member:
corinne

Posted on Monday, Apr 23, 2007 - 9:53 am:

I meant under the R and S I placed a small I
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