Crab pot buoys

I scored a great deal on some crabbing gear from steelheadr at the ORC.  The buoys that came with everything are yellow.  However WDFW requires crab pot buoys to be white and red.

Before I go out and buy rattle cans in the appropriate colors, is there anything I need to know about brand/type of paint, surface prep, or other factors that will affect the durability of the paint job on the buoys? 

Or would I be better off to save those bouys for when I get shrimp pots (since they have to be yellow with shrimp gear) and just buy red and white buoys?

You can usually get red and white buoys for crab pots ranging in price from about $6.99 to about $20.  I usually opt for the lower end of that range and they have served me well.

I have had great success just using cheap spray paint on "found" floats.  No big deal even if you have to repaint every year or two.

instead of making a new thread, I'll just ask you guys.. do you have to use a metal pod for crabbing? I have some nets I used for spiney lobster in ca, are they legal here?

The regs are pretty specific as to size, gates, floats, line sinkers and escape provisions.  I suspect your nets would not be legal.  Check the wdfw site for details.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/crab/

instead of making a new thread, I'll just ask you guys.. do you have to use a metal pod for crabbing? I have some nets I used for spiney lobster in ca, are they legal here?

Not a problem to start your own thread.  While I don't mind threadjacking it won't step on people's toes to make a new thread.

Anyway, to answer your question, that depends on the design of your lobster pot. 

GENERAL GEAR RULES:
May be harvested by hand or dipnet. Hand operated instruments may not penetrate the shell.
One star trap, one ring net, or one pot is considered one unit of gear. The maximum number of units of gear that may be fished per person is:
Puget Sound: (Marine Area 4, east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line, and in Marine Areas 5-13).
Shrimp: Two pots per person, and no more than 4 shrimp pots may be onboard or fished by any one boat at a time.
Crab: Two units of crab gear per person, and no limit on the number of units of crab gear per boat.
Coastal Waters: (Marine Areas 1-3 and in Marine Area 4, west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line). Two units of crab and/or shrimp gear per person.
Exception: Columbia River - three units of crab gear per person.
Freshwater: Crawfish: Five units of gear per person.
Every shellfish pot, ring net, or star trap left unattended in Washington waters must have its own buoy line and a separate buoy that is permanently
and legibly marked with the operator’s first name, last name, and permanent address (telephone number is voluntary). It is ILLEGAL to set or pull
unattended shellfish gear with a buoy that does not have your name on it, and only one name and address may appear on each buoy. Any angler
may assist the person whose name is on the buoy while he or she is pulling the pot. No fisher may set, fish, or pull shellfish gear from a vessel, in
Catch Record Card Areas 1-13, from one hour after official sunset to one hour before official sunrise. All shellfish gear must be removed from
the water on closed days.
Buoys must be constructed of durable material (no bleach, antifreeze, detergent bottles, paint cans, etc.) and must be visible on the surface at
all times except during extreme tidal conditions. Personal flags and staff, if attached to buoys, can be of any color. Buoy lines must be weighted
sufficiently to prevent them from floating on the surface.
Cord used must be untreated 100% cotton or other natural fiber no larger than thread size 120 (⅛"). This cord, when attached as described above,
must be able to rot away and allow crab, shrimp, crawfish and fish to escape freely if the pot is lost. A derelict crab pot without proper escape cord
can attract and kill crabs for years after the pot has been lost.
CRAB GEAR:
The minimum mesh size for crab pots is 1½", and all pots must have two 4¼" minimum inside diameter escape rings in the upper half of the
pot, except in the Columbia River where the minimum ring size is 4" inside diameter.
All parts of ring nets and star traps must lie flat on the sea bottom and may not restrict free movement of crab until lifted. Shellfish pots must
be covered by water at all times while being fished.
Crab pots must not exceed 13 cubic feet.
All crab gear buoys must be half red and half white in color, and both colors need to be visible when fishing.

I suspect your rings are legal as there are only a few manufacturers of gear for recreational crabbers/lobsterers, and they make them to meet the needs of both.  Examples would be Promar and Danielson rings that are legal up and down the west coast.

Regarding the shrimp floats, you can always get a red and white float for each pot and use in conjunction with the shrimp float... you should have more than one float on your pot anyway.

I scored a great deal on some crabbing gear from steelheadr at the ORC.  The buoys that came with everything are yellow.  However WDFW requires crab pot buoys to be white and red.

Before I go out and buy rattle cans in the appropriate colors, is there anything I need to know about brand/type of paint, surface prep, or other factors that will affect the durability of the paint job on the buoys? 

Or would I be better off to save those bouys for when I get shrimp pots (since they have to be yellow with shrimp gear) and just buy red and white buoys?

better off buying new ones

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