Painting a shed -- need novice-proof advice

[Medea13]

Hi all,

I would like to paint my garden shed. It's currently normal wood colour but the doors are inexplicably a hideous shade of baby blue. I would like to paint it all elegant grey -- i like the look of Cuprinol Ducksback in Silver Copse.
Would this product be suitable? What sort of brush(es) would i need? Do i need any other equipment (besides a ladder)?

Also, one side of the fence is partially inaccessible at the moment due to a bumblebee nest. It's mostly hidden from sight unless you're in a particular area of the garden. Could i leave that part and come back to it in the autumn when the bees have left? Or does the whole painting project need to wait till then?

Thanks!

Hi I think that would be fine. Just use a normal brush maybe 2 or 3 inches wide depends how you feel painting with it, just be comfortable and its not to much on your wrist . Nothing else is required ladders if you can't reach the top, but make sure they are safe and solid before you climb. Good luck

Yes, Cuprinol ducksback is the correct paint for a shed. I recently painted my shed using their shades range. My shed is less than 6 months old and I think treated with something. It took a good 3 coats to get a nice even colour.

One thing to mention is that painting in warmer weather means it dries very quickly, you don't want to leave the second coat too long before painting as it kind of waterproofs it so I did mine in sections. I've also pained something else in silver birch which is another of their shades range and it looks fab.

Personal taste, but I think a solid grey would be quite flat and dull. We did our shed in one of the lighter green colours (think it was called willow) a couple of years back and accented the window frames, roof edges, corner posts in a cream. It looks really nice especially with a couple of plants in containers at either side of the door.

Be aware the colours paints are not long lasting and usually need redone every other year.

Categorically do not buy Ronseal fence life plus. I did, the other day and ended up returning it (for the cuprinol in silver copse). It was awful, like skimmed milk and washed off days later in the rain, leaving a big paint patch on the floor. A quick google told me that my experiences were not unique...

I’ve got a small (very small) summerhouse and I repaint it every two years with Cuprinol Shades. It’s easy to use and covers well. It started as very safe teal with cream cream. Then I painted the doors bright yellow. Then the wood part light blue, and this year I’ve painted the doors pink.
I’m usually very boring!

Thanks for all the replies; glad i'm on the right track. But what about the bee thing?

(the bee thing is already stalling a few other garden projects - - most irritatingly, we are unable to access part of the back fence and the dog keeps escaping (or did, now she has to stay on a lead in the garden, which isn't ideal...))

The only piece of advice I can give you re painting sheds is don't sit on the roof if it's at all weak. There is the distinct possibility that your arse might go through it, your flailing legs might kick the ladder away, and you might get wedged in the hole, unable to get out without a mighty lot of wriggling, swearing and splinters.
Spoken from bitter experience.

We have a huge sawn timber garage and have used Farrow and Ball external paint for woodwork and it’s now 8 years old and still perfect. It’s in Downpipe. I also have two garden buildings which are made from a better quality of timber. Both of those are Cornforth White from F and B external woodwork. They cost more but give a lovely finish.

If it was me, I would paint most of the shed and do the bit near the bees in the autumn. As long as you don't leave an area with only one coat on it should be fine. There may be a slight line where the two phases of painting meet if you can only get halfway along one side. maybe better to paint 3 sides and leave the fourth for now than paint 3 1/2 sides if you want to avoid an overlap line. (Hope that makes sense). Store the leftover paint carefully until you need it again.

Make sure you stir the paint well before using, and decant into a plastic tub ( I cut the top off a clean milk carton or large drinks bottle and use that - no need to clean it after!)
Then it doesn't matter so much if you drop the odd bit of dirt from your paintbrush into the paint.
Make sure that the surface is clean before you start.
(I know that's v obvious but that's my novice advice!)

you don't want to leave the second coat too long before painting as it kind of waterproofs

Well that explains why my second coat of Shades was pretty much repelled; left a couple of weeks (and the rest...) between coats

the "waterproofing" effect happens with shed and fence stains which are a waxy emulsion. they leave a waxy film on the surface after drying, which repels water (the stain is mostly water). A true paint doesn't so that.

You can do repeated coats of stain in the same day as long as you do the following coat while the preceding is still soft, in sunshine this may mean starting again at the top of the panel as soon as you reach the bottom with the first. Otherwise you have to wait for the gloss to weather away. It may take months.

You can tell how waxy they are by throwing a cup of water at the fence. When the stain is fresh it will bead up and run off without wetting the wood.

p.s.

you do have to stir these things very thoroughly, before and during use. You can get a sort of paddle mixer that goes in an electric drill. Otherwise the pigments and solids sink to the bottom of the tub and yes, it's like water.

Experienced old DIYers keep a special stick for stirring paint in their shed.

I have recently completed the repainting of a wooden playhouse I was given using Ronseal garden paints. Under the grandchildren's instructions it is a variety of colours and it went on easily though some colours need more coats that others

I found a 2 inch brush best for painting my shed. I left the back unpainted as it was so sheltered I didn’t feel it needed the protection and nobody can see it.

Thanks again all!

You can just leave a section & return to it later in the year. It's possible it'll look slightly different to the bits painted earlier, but depends how much that bothers you!

My shed is in Willow and it's a great colour. Not too light and not too dark, and not drab.