If you want a great way to spruce up your fence without the hassle, look no further! Learn how to paint your wood fence with a paint sprayer in 5 simple steps.
We lived in our previous home for 8 years, and we were lucky to have a wonderful fence around the backyard. The house sat on a curve in the road, so we had a great, big backyard. It was wonderful to let the kids run out and play without worrying too much.
But after 5 years of weather and normal wear and tear, the fence looked very grungy. On top of that, the HOA had been on our case to paint it the approved neighborhood color.
I do appreciate that the HOA maintains our common areas and helps keep our property values up, but I don't love getting those bright orange letters telling me what color to paint my fence.
I was sure I'd hate the color they picked, but to my surprise, I actually liked it! It's called Sand Castle by Sherwin-Williams, a nice greige that looks good with our red brick. It's their exterior solid stain, so it's made for painting outdoor surfaces!
Being the DIY girl that I am, I had to do it myself instead of hiring it out. I also didn't want to stand out there with a paintbrush, so I decided to use a paint sprayer for the first time in my life.
I chose the HomeRight Finish Max Paint Sprayer. It's an inexpensive sprayer and made the job an absolute breeze. HomeRight gave me the sprayer to use, but I planned to buy it either way!
I'll share all my best tips for getting a great finish with this sprayer, but it's not hard to use at all! I was a little nervous to use a paint sprayer for the first time, but I loved it and plan to use it on any large paint project in the future. Our neighbors (who aren't DIYers) even borrowed it to paint their fence and loved it!
Tools You Need to Paint a Wood Fence
- Paint sprayer (I used this one.)
- Paint or stain of your choice
- Extension cord, depending on the size of your project
- Clear plastic sheeting, optional
- Pressure washer (we rented one for this job, but have since bought this pressure washer and love it!)
Steps to Paint a Wood Fence
1. Clean the Fence
This seems like an obvious first step, but I want to explain how much cleaning really needs to happen. My good friend paints fences for a living, and his advice was to use a pressure washer to blast off the dirt.
It doesn't have to be perfect, but you want to knock off that top layer of dirt and grime. We ended up renting a commercial-grade pressure washer, and it took a little more than a day to get everything clean.
RELATED: Painting a Room in 5 Easy Steps
I couldn't believe the difference! If I hadn't already bought the fence paint, I probably would have just put clear stain on it at that point.
Then let the fence dry out for at least 2 days.
2. Protect the Areas You Don't Want Painted
I used large plastic sheeting to cover my house and the brick pillars in the fence, to protect them from overspray. I don't recommend putting it up until right before you're ready to paint, because I put mine up a few days early and it all blew down before I could start.
3. Prep the Paint and Sprayer
I took the Finish Max Paint Sprayer out of the box and read the instructions. I won't go over all of them here, but know that if you're using any kind of paint, you'll probably need to thin it with water. The instructions say clear stain shouldn't need thinning, but I'd test it first.
The small blue funnel is how you'll test the thickness of your paint and see how much thinning it needs.
You scoop some paint into the funnel and time how long it takes to run through. It needs to flow through within a certain number of seconds.
I ended up thinning my paint about 50/50 with water. It was really thick, though! Once it reached the right consistency, we were ready to paint!
4. Paint!
Fill the sprayer's reservoir, plug it in and start painting! Stay about 8-12 inches back from the surface and move the sprayer evenly across it. Set the nozzle horizontal or vertical depending on the direction you're spraying. We sprayed vertically, so the nozzle was set vertically.
Even, THIN coats are the key to a good finish. Otherwise the paint will run and streak down the side of whatever you're painting.
I ended up doing two coats for good coverage, and once I got going it didn't take long at all. I kept getting interrupted by the kids, so it took me a day and a half to finish the fence. It would have gone much faster if my kids hadn't needed me!
Tip: The instructions say not to leave the sprayer sitting unused for more than 30 minutes, or some of the paint can dry and clog the nozzle. I had to stop for about 20 minutes to tend to the kiddos. When I came back, it had trouble spraying evenly. Some paint in the nozzle had dried too much, so I had to take the nozzle parts off and clean them. After that it worked like a charm again!
So if you're going to take a longer break, know that you'll probably need to clean it out partly or completely before it works again.
Yes, I know the leaning fence post needs to be fixed.
5. Clean Up!
I didn't take any photos of this step, but it's pretty self-explanatory. Take the whole thing apart following the directions, and if you're using water-based paint, wash it out with warm soapy water. If you used oil-based paint, you'll need to clean it up with mineral spirits.
The Finish Max Paint Sprayer comes with a long scrubbing wand for cleaning, which makes getting into the smaller spots a breeze! It was a very handy tool to have.
Finally, let all the pieces dry before you put it back together and store it.
Final Thoughts
If you need a painted fence but don't want to pay someone else to do it, this way is your best bet! It's super easy, quick, and well worth it in the long run.
Picture how nice and pretty your newly painted fence will look! I'm so glad I pushed past my nerves about the new tool and gave it a try. I'll definitely use it again on future painting projects!
More Posts You Might Like:
