Should I paint my fence? (1 Viewer)

I have about 250' of cedar picket fencing that needs to be either sealed, stained, painted etc. Big mistake looking back on it as I should have gone with vinyl fencing. I want to make the fence as low maintenance as possible. Don't really want to have to put sealer on it every year or two. I thought about painting it with some exterior house paint. Any one have any advice for me?

Thanks,

Scott

use one of the new poly-urethane varnishes, if you get the marine version, it should last a long time

The only drawback is that you'll have to paint both sides.

Mort

Calling Mike "Miyagi" Frezon

Well, there's two options - don't paint it in something and watch it rot and fall down quickly, or paint it and watch it rot and fall down a good few years later. Painting will definitely help preserve the fence and will be cheaper than buying a new fence.

250 ft of fence can look pretty overwhelming if you choose the wrong colour. I agree with Eric - go for a decent varnish (preferably one that feeds the wood as well) in something fairly 'safe'. Just choose the one day of the year when there are no little insects to fly into the wet varnish and it's neither too cold nor too hot and there's absolutely no chance of rain. Also (and I know this sounds obvious, but you'd be amazed how many people don't obey this rule) make sure that people aren't going to brush past it, lean against it, etc.

Interesting. Never heard of using varnish. I thought most people simply go with something like Thompson's water sealer. I actually did spray one side of my fence with CWF cedar tone. Looked pretty good but a major pain. The other side of the fence is turning grey. How long do you think the varnish idea will last before having to re-apply. Also would i brush it on? Thanks to all who replied, and any more ideas will be appreciated.

Scott

From dictionary.com:

contradiction in terms

A statement that seems to contradict itself, with one part of it denying another. For example, I've always believed that "a poor millionaire" was a contradiction in terms. [Late 1700s]

As someone who still has un unpainted/unstained stockade fence installed in my yard last summer, I, too, am interested in hearing responses in this thread.

My experience with Thompsons is that it is not worth the money. The wood may look okay for a year, but after that, forget it, it will be back to the greying. If you are going to paint the fence now, you will have to prep it by removing all the grime first, otherwise your paint will just fall off. You can do this by pressure washing it, but you will have to be sure the wood is bone dry before painting it. It would also help to apply a proper sealer before painting as well. Cedar doesn't hold paint very well in my experience.

Depending on how extreme your weather is, paint is only good for a few years, of course depending on its quality, and how well the surface was prepared first. A marine paint will hold up longer, but will still tend to look dingy with time.