OMG - Painting fences

[SciFiScream]

We're painting a fence after having some repairs work done.

It's been long over due (I think painted once in 14 years).

It's a really fiddly fence to paint as we had slats off set on other slats to give us more privacy, and act as a better wind break in our exceptionally windy garden.

The majority of the fence is not shared with neighbours.

I could quite happily never paint the fence again BUT would it be easier if we did it more often?

Or I'm going to save up and pay someone.

Any top tips to make this painful experience easier?

Wax on, wax off Daniel.

No haven't read this in over 35 years. It obviously struck a cord with me

medium.com/@thenthgen/the-most-important-life-lesson-from-tom-sawyer-e92f86f6afb3

Grow some ivy up against them and train it to grow up and around the fence, will make it super strong and you don’t have to paint it.

I protect my earbuds with a very bad beanie hat 😀
But actually I don't think it matters. I splattered paint all over my glasses and it came off the plastic really easily.

I've never painted a fence in my life, we always leave them natural.

We have 100ft garden fenced on both sides 2 of us paint 2 panels each a day then leave it so you don't get pissed off with it .

@ShinyHatStand

I protect my earbuds with a very bad beanie hat 😀 But actually I don't think it matters. I splattered paint all over my glasses and it came off the plastic really easily.

OMG. Why didn't I think of that? I was wearing a hat anyway because it was so cold and windy (helped keep my hair under control)

Next time I paint - I'm wearing my ear buds!

DH and I have realised that even though we bought "one coat paint" it's all going to need to need a second coat

@EventuallyDistracted

I've never painted a fence in my life, we always leave them natural.

Ours were several different colours* (before us) and needed sprucing up. Plus there are new sections due to rotten and damaged posts/slats

So, we've painted them all a dark oak to try and make them look a bit more uniform/meant to be.

*as in a section brown, a section reddish, a section greenish etc etc

I have a lodger who really struggled for money due to the pandemic last year so in lieu of unpaid rent, I got all my garden walls and fences painted along with a shed built and painted and a few other bits. He still owes me some money so is eyeing up what else can be done around the house and garden.

That is a rather niche solution though.

I used this technique .....pour paint in tray, dip a sponge in and sponge paint onto slats. Game changer. Wear gloves though! 😁

I'm trying to get my 14 year old and 10 year old to help! That's my version of the lodger solution.

Hhmmmm that sponge solution sounds like it has a lot of potential. What size of sponge? Did the paint drip lots?

Headphones, audio book and hope for sunshine until it's done!

Quick question for all you expert fence painters - I have fences and a shed that have gone grey with age (a bit like myself ). There's treatment you can apply to restore them from grey - do I need to do this before painting with preserver, or can I just whack the preserver straight on?

It is less of a job if you do it every year.

I second the using a sponge method with plastic gloves. I just used a few kitchen sponges or the jumbo ones you use to wash the car.

Second coat is always hugely faster. It doesn't matter if you skip some of the fiddly bits.

Could you not cut the bottom off a large plastic bottle and put the sprays nozzle in through the top so it has a cup to protect from the wind?

Just painted mine in the last 2 days .... similar type of fence.

Used a large roller for the big panel areas and brush for the fill in areas. The roller gives you satisfaction of seeing panels painted quickly. The. It’s just a case of keeping going.

Good luck.

It’s a heads down, crack on task

Did mine recently and couldn’t believe how long it took! Tedious job.

Still have the back to do

My 10 year old offered to help me paint the fence and found she really enjoyed it, so I offered £3 a fence panel as payment and she did a really good job. Can you workout a reasonable cost per plank to motivate them?
Didn’t get it all finished in one sitting Due to boredom and weather, but We got there in the end

@JobRetentionScheme

Just painted mine in the last 2 days .... similar type of fence.

Used a large roller for the big panel areas and brush for the fill in areas. The roller gives you satisfaction of seeing panels painted quickly. The. It’s just a case of keeping going.

Good luck.

It’s a heads down, crack on task

Roller sounds like an excellent idea

@SciFiScream

We can't spray it. Garden is too windy, gaps between slats too big. Paint would go every where and even though we only share a small section with neighbours, there are cars that would get covered in paint on the other side of our fence.

We gave it serious consideration but had to rule it out.

Wind was blowing paint off my roller to give you an idea of how windy it can be...

I tried painting with a brush once and put me off for life (after doing half a fence). Ditched it in and got a spray machine from my dad and did all my fences in an afternoon with time spare for breaks and an ice cream (priorities!). Realise that's not an option, but if you have patience in abundance then you'll be fine doing it!

Buy expensive fence paint - we like the ducks back stuff. It saves coats and lasts longer so you don't have to repaint next year - I figure an extra £5 a tin is more than worth the time saving.

We have a very similar fence and it took us about 3 years to paint it all to DH's satisfaction.

Took me 3 days to do a similar 60 foot one, 2 coats with a brush

I would recommend using a brush rather than a roller- a big floppy one like this that is designed for large areas like fences and sheds:

www.wilko.com/wilko-comfy-grip-shed-fence-block-brush/p/0288309?gclid=CjwKCAjw3pWDBhB3EiwAV1c5rBuU4JJP_iCOZpnwAwR1MfkmvLoWtAFLhkiR9gaOIrq6e6CqPtFspRoC7c8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Makes it very easy to cover a large surface area relatively quickly and the small edges get mostly covered as part of the stroke for the large flat surface.

And second the pp who recommended the Cuprinol Ducksback stuff.

I feel really boring for sharing this!

I started doing mine, biggish garden. Dd has suggested I do one panel a day as I’m not the best at getting things done! Maybe done by christmas