5 Steps To Painting Your Wooden Fence in St. Louis, MO

If you have a wooden fence, you may well be content to have the fence stay as it is — unpainted — and if that is the case, that is perfectly fine as a well made wooden fence looks nice.

There are benefits to be had to painting your wooden fence, among them being that your fence will be better protected against the elements and will be considerably easier to clean than if it is unpainted.

When in the process of painting your fence, there are ways to do it to improve the painting process, which we shall be discussing.

This being the case, here are five steps to painting your wooden fence in St. Louis, MO.

1. Prepare The Area

The first thing you should do when you are involved in the painting of your fence is to prepare the area.

You will do this by ensuring that the area around the fence is protected against any possible spills or drips — you can make use of a tarp or drop cloth in the area surrounding your fence to take care of this.

On the part of the fence that may connect to the exterior of your home you may wish to also have some tarp so that paint does not get onto your house.

2. Clean The Fence

The only way that you’re going to be able to properly clean your fence is to first make sure that it is a clean fence.

A fence that has dirt and even mildew or mold on it will not be adequate as far as surfaces go for painting — you would not want to paint on top of any of these.

First you will want to get a good cleaning solution and apply it with a hard brush and then rinse off the solution so that it runs off clear.

Your alternative to this is to use a power washer, but the problem with this is that it is easy to damage the fence if you use too much pressure or are too close to the fence.

3. Sand The Fence

The best kind of surface for painting is one that is smooth, and the way to get a smooth surface is to sand it.

Using medium grit sandpaper you will run over the surface of the wooden fence — you can alternatively use an orbital sander with a medium grit sanding disk.

3. Apply Coat Of Primer

The next step in the process of painting your fence is to apply a coat of primer such that the coats of paint will properly adhere to the fence.

Some advise that you should sand between applying the primer and applying the first coat of paint but this is up to you and how much time you have for the painting project.

4. Paint The Fence

The last real step in this painting project is to paint the fence itself — you will want to apply a coat of paint and then after allowing for the first coat to dry, apply a second coat if necessary.

It sometimes does happen that you will apply a coat of paint and then not have to put on a second coat if the first coat is sufficient for your needs.

5. Give Ample Time To Dry

As strange as it may sound, some people don’t give their paint adequate time to dry and this has many negative effects.

The main problem that you will come across if you don’t give enough time for your coat of paint to dry is that it will lift up the coat of paint while you are putting on the second coat and make a rather unpleasant mess.

Do yourself a favor and make sure that the paint is dry prior to painting anew.

We would love the opportunity to be your go-to exterior painter in St. Louis, MO. Call us at 314-582-5272 to book a FREE estimate, and let us help you enhance the interior of your home so you can focus on other things.

Related: 5 Tricks For Painting a Concrete Floor in St. Louis, MO
7 Things To Remember While Exterior Painting in St. Louis, MO
7 Simple Steps for Exterior Paint Prep in St. Louis, MO