How to spray paint a fence

Before you start planning your painting project, check the weather forecast. You’ll want to plan this project over a few nice, warm, sunny days to ensure the paint cures evenly.

Once you have your weather window, you can begin prepping your fence. First, give your fence a good scrub, removing any dust, cobwebs, dirt or flaky old paint. Be thorough – make sure you get into all the tight corners of each panel and rail. This will ensure that the paint sticks to every part of the fence.

Next, prepare the paint for spraying. Grab your tin of paint and give it a good stir with a paint stirrer so that the colour is completely mixed. There should not be any separation in the paint between the top and the bottom of the tin. Once the paint is ready, pour some of it into the reservoir of the paint sprayer and top up with 10 percent water to dilute the mixture slightly for spraying.

Tip: Check the sprayer’s instructions for paint dilution rates.

Before you begin spraying the fence, test the sprayer out on a piece of cardboard or old timber offcut. Make sure the sprayer is spraying evenly – you can turn the nozzle on the spray gun to adjust the flow until you’re happy with it.

Make sure you’re looking after your neighbour’s property. To prevent spray paint from getting into their yard or on their fence, hold a piece of cardboard up behind the fence when you paint the top third. This will stop the spray from going over onto their property.

You might find your fence is blocked by plants, trees or bushes. Don’t worry – there is an easy workaround. Simply wrap up the foliage with some garden mesh and cable ties to pull it back and temporarily secure it away from the fence.

Once it’s tied back, spray as normal. If some of the paint gets onto the foliage, simply wipe it off quickly with a damp cloth. Don’t untie the foliage until you’ve applied a second coat and allowed the paint to dry between coats.

When you’re happy with the way the gun is spraying, you can start applying the paint to the fence. Turn the sprayer vertically or horizontally, depending on the way the palings sit on your fence.

If you have horizontal fence panels, you’ll need to use the vertical nozzle, and vice versa. To get into tight areas underneath the rails, adjust the nozzle so that there is a denser stream rather than a fine mist. For the best results and to prevent paint drips, maintain a spray distance of between 20 and 30cm.

Once you’ve given the fence one coat of paint, wait for it to dry completely and then change the spraying angle for the second coat. This will ensure you get into all the nooks and crannies of the fence.

Once you’re happy with your work, clean the equipment thoroughly. Unscrew the sprayer. If there’s any paint left in the reservoir, pour it back into the paint can. Once that’s done, pour some water into the reservoir. Pull the sprayer apart and clean it piece by piece until there’s no sign of any paint left and the water runs clear.

With all of that done, you’ll have a perfect, protected fence that frames your property nicely and will look good for years to come – definitely worth the effort!