You husband has the right idea. Sandblast - then the paint will adhere better to the birdbath. Spray enamel - good quality - We it is done change the water occasionally and I bet the water will be a better quality than most. Good luck - Mike

Y'all are so lucky. I just get the RTs, but that's still outstanding. I've only been HB'ing for 4 years now and started because they were frequenting my garden. I raise and release butterflies so a lot of their plants are attractive to hummers too, like salvias, lantana, passion vines, cosmos, verbena bonariensis, pentas, cypress vine, honeysuckle. I see my hummers all day long from dawn to dusk. Do they fly at night? Seems like they never rest! Have fun at your festival and let us know how it goes. Susan

If you live in an area that freezes, you really need to bring the birdbath inside for the winter. No matter what you do, the tiles can pop off as the piece expands and contracts in the cold. That being said, I did a birdbath last spring and it is holding up great. I did mine on a terra cotta saucer, but the process should still be the same. I started with a 14" terra cotta saucer like the ones that go underneath clay pots. I rinsed it out and made sure it was free of debris. After it dried, I applied three coats of a penetrating sealer for tile and grout. The one I am using has a 5-year warranty and is a matte finish. There are many products on the market that have a 20-year warranty but they are much more expensive and since I am new to this, I didn't want to go to the extra expense right now. A couple of days after I applied the sealer I adhered the tiles with a pre-mixed concrete patch. Since I was working in the house I didn't want to try and mix my own mortar or thinset. I used the indirect method by designing it on contact paper first then laying it in the bottom of the saucer after I put a thin layer of the concrete patch on the bottom. I used vitreous glass tiles with some light blue glass nuggets in the center. I kept the design very simple as I was not in the mood to cut a bunch of tiles. After three days of letting the adhesive dry, I grouted it with a gray sanded grout using Admix as the liquid. I sealed it with the same matte finish penetrating sealer after the grout cured for several days. I think the most important thing is that the adhesive and the grout have sufficient time to set before use. Good luck with your project. Here is a link that might be useful:

You can make a DIY birdbath that can take the freezing temperature outside. I know a friend who made a 5-gallon bucket into a winter birdbath. He covered the surface with carpet why filling half of it with gravel. Then he installs a 60-watt lightbulb inside the bucket and sets a dish of water on top. The lightbulb will provide warmth which will prevent the water from freezing.