Fence painting
A fence that gets a coat every few years lasts decades. One that never gets one is a replacement job in about eight.
Best timeLate spring to early autumn, on dry days
Panels, posts, rails, gates and trellis. I clean the timber down first, cut in around posts and the tops of panels by hand, and work the coat into the grain rather than skimming over it. The end grain on post tops and panel bottoms soaks up the most and rots first, so that is where the attention goes.
Weather decides this job. Timber has to be genuinely dry, not just dry on the face, and there needs to be a dry stretch afterwards for it to cure. Late spring to early autumn is the window. Painting in blazing direct sun is its own problem, because the coat skins over before it has soaked in.
Brand new fencing is worth a word of warning. Most new panels are pressure treated and still wet with preservative, and they will not take a finish properly for six months to a year. Paint it the week it goes up and it flakes off the following summer.
Fence painting, before and after
Drag the handle, or use the arrow keys.
Questions people ask
- What time of year is best?
- Late spring to early autumn, on a run of dry days. The timber needs to be dry going on and it needs dry weather afterwards, which rules out most of the winter.
- My fence went up last month. Can it be painted?
- Better to wait. New pressure-treated timber is still full of preservative and will not hold a coat properly for six months to a year. Let it weather first and the paint will stay on for years instead of flaking off next summer.
- Does it need washing first?
- If there is green growth or loose old coating on it, yes. It needs to be clean and dry before anything goes on, otherwise the new coat is only stuck to the dirt.
- How long before it can get wet?
- Check the tin, because it varies by product, but as a rule you want a clear dry spell for the rest of the day. I keep an eye on the forecast and will move the job rather than paint into rain.