Fences and Gates - Staining/Painting Old Weathered Fence

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jgido759
05-28-08, 11:09 AM
I have a 6' pine stockade fence that has been up for about 4 years. No prior staining/painting has been done to it. It is weathered and starting to grey in color. I have replaced all of the split/broken pickets and am ready to put some type of white paint/stain on it.

What type of prep work should be done to prepare the fence? I tried power washing it and the wood was "fraying" so I stopped. I also plan to use a siding brush with some bleach & water to remove some mildew areas.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

marksr
05-28-08, 12:46 PM
Use a pump up garden sprayer to apply either a bleach/water solution or a deck cleaner, let it set but not dry and then either rinse with a pressure washer or a garden hose.

A pressure washer can be an invaluable aid to cleaning but never should be used as the sole method to clean wood!
jgido759
05-28-08, 12:52 PM
marksr,

Thanks for the quick reply. Do you recommend doing the entire fence, or just the trouble spots? Also, what is the easiest, most effective way to apply the white stain? I have about 200 linear feet of fence to paint.

marksr
05-28-08, 01:02 PM
Yes, it's better to clean the entire fence. Trouble spots might require a 2nd application. The weathered gray is actually a natural attempt for the wood to protect itself but it will hinder the stain adhession a little bit.

Spraying and back rolling is the quickest way but a brush and roller will do fine, if spraying isn't an option. If you do spray, be mindfull of where your overspray is going! It wouldn't be any fun to get done and have a neighbor say "what are you going to do about the paint that got on my...." :eek:
jgido759
05-28-08, 01:08 PM
Thanks, again.

Spraying will probably do the trick as the fence is not close to any structure (> 10') with the exception of the 2 points at which it borders MY house. I'm sure a couple of drop cloths and some blue painters' tape and cardboard should solve that problem.

The staining will also be a weekend project. Should I apply 1 or 2 coats and if 2, how long between as I will probably have to rent the sprayer?
marksr
05-29-08, 03:23 AM
What i like to do is spray on the stain, back roll it and then spray on another coat. If you spray and then back roll, you can probably start over after you have finished.

You need to read the specs for the stain. Some stains can be recoated when dry but others must be recoated within a specfic time period or you must wait until they have weathered off [unless you strip of the new stain :eek:]