Even beautifully painted fences can start to look faded and washed-out after a few years, and the wide range of stains and paints on the market means you don’t have to stick to brown or green.
Here’s our step by step guide to staining your fence.
Getting the Right Products for the Job
You can’t just use any old paint you have lying around the house to paint your garden fence.
As most fences are wood panelled, look for products branded as fence paint, exterior wood stain or shed preserver.
The tub will clearly tell you if the paint or stain is suitable for internal or external use.
There is a wide range of colours available, with blue and black a good, modern alternative to green or brown.
The tub will also tell you roughly how many panels it will cover.
New fence panels which have not previously been treated will soak up a lot of stain and may need more to get an even coverage.
You’ll also need a large brush to apply the paint with, and these are usually stocked beside the paints.
Rollers aren’t the best tool for this job – a large brush will be more efficient.
Finally, look out some old clothes to do the painting in as even the most careful painter will get splashed.
Start With a Clean Surface
The first thing to do is give the fence panels a good clean, either with a pressure washer, jet washer or just a sponge and warm water with a little washing up liquid in it.
Taking the time to remove any dust and dirt at this stage will give a better finish.
Leave the fence to dry completely before thinking about applying any paint.
This is also the stage at which you can replace any damaged panels, patch up broken sections, or replace any nails and fixings.
Painting
Move any garden furniture or toys out of the way, and protect any precious rose bushes or other plants with dust sheets as best you can before starting to paint.
Starting from the top, use a smaller brush to apply stain to the top of the fence and any trellis section, then use a larger brush to work your way down the rest of the panels.
Always work in the same direction as the grain of the wood, and if you have a huge area of fence to paint, consider hiring one of the special paint sprayer machines which can make the job quicker.
Leave one coat to dry completely before going over the whole fence again.
If your fence is new and absorbs the stain quickly, you may even find that two coats is not enough.
Once applied, the stain should seal your fence panels and protect them against the worst of the British weather.
Unfortunately that protection doesn’t last forever, and you should plan to redo your fence every two or three years.
If you decide you don’t want to undertake the task yourself you can always use Top Tradespeople to compare quotes from painters and decorators.
