Painting or staining a wooden fence?

Very soon I'm gonna' be putting up new wooden privacy fencing. 6' tall x 8' wide panels, stainless steel posts.

I don't want to spend all this money and time just to have this thing only last 10 years.

I'm gonna' stain it or paint it and I'm really leaning towards stain from everything I've read on these forums.

Not really knowing anything about painting or staining other than what I've read on these forums over the last week or so, I was wondering if BEHR Plus 10 Oil/Latex-Based House and Fence Stain stain is any good? Any experience(s) with it? I see that it's at the local home supply place for $103/five gallon bucket full. I noticed that it didn't specify a color. On something like this do they just add some coloring to it at the store of how light or dark I want it?

Also, what are some of ya'll's views on stain versus paint on a wood fence?

I think the deal-breaker for using paint with my situation is the amount of preparation that it takes to be able to paint and the fact that I have a lot of fence to do. Sanding, priming, etc. I'm puttin' up approximately 600 feet of fence up soon and in the future I got another couple thousand feet I'd like to put up around my property.

Thanks!

 

Primer and paint will almost always outlast stain but IMO it isn't worth the added effort both now and at repaint time [scraping and repriming]

Generally big box paint depts stock their coatings based on price rather than quality. I don't use their coatings often enough to comment on how well they work although the common consensus is they aren't as good as the premium coatings available at your local paint store.

Most stains can be tinted, how much depends on the base. If you pick the color, the folks at the paint store will know which base it can be made from. Toners or translucent stains will let the colors naturally in the wood show thru the stain. Solid stain looks similar to paint and generally last the longest. A semi-transparent stain is somewhere between the two.

 

marksr,

Thanks for all your help, man. I reckon I just need to go by Sherwin Williams. That's the only paint supply store type place I think we have without goin' 90 miles to the City. I been figuring on solid stain, as well.

I need to look at their airless sprayers while I'm there, too.

I'll go check that stuff out and get back with ya'll.

Thanks!!!

 

Solid stain would be my choice as well - Cabot and Sikkens typically get the most recommendation here.

I wouldn't spray, you want to back-brush or roll anyway so I just apply it with the brush to start.

 

You can save a lot of time by spraying.... but it isn't as simple as just pulling the trigger. You must be mindful of where the overspray is going!!! I like to spray, backroll and then spray again when painting a fence. That insures a good heavy coat which typically results in a longer lasting job. That said, there are times when conditions or surroundings make spraying a poor choice - each job must be evaluated separately.

 

Thanks for the replies, ya'll. I just got home from work and realized I wanted to go to Sherwin Williams right after work. lol! I think I may just save it for tomorrow. I've already got my boots off and my first beer down.

I think my plans are to spray and have my dad or someone back-brush as we go, or vice-versa.

Speaking of spraying, I forgot to ask a question in my initial post. Talkin' about overspray, I was wonderin' if the panels could be painted prior to being installed? That would be totally sweet in the way of not getting overspray on my houses and tenants' cars or my new stainless steel posts. One concern I had though was if I stained them prior to install, would shifting the wood around, etc. expose parts that may have not gotten a good coat of stain?

Short story long......Can I stain the panels BEFORE I install 'em?

Thanks again for everything thus far!

 

Short answer, probably

I put the cedar siding on my ex-in-laws' cabin that way

 

It shouldn't be a problem to stain them first, plan on a little touch up after installation.

Stainless steel posts?? sounds expensive

 

I can handle that. That'd be a lot easier to stain first and then install 'em.

Yeah, stainless posts. I call 'em "forever posts". Haha Got away from wood posts a long time ago. They just don't last. Our local home improvement place is having a 10 - 20% off sale on everything in the store tomorrow only. Quantities are limited, but I am gonna' try to get every possible thing I can. I'll buy their whole stock if they'll let me. I need 75 posts and 70 panels. Regular price for the posts are $18/each and the panels are regularly $36/each. Hopefully a 10 - 20% discount softens the blow a little bit. lol

***SPEAKING OF DISCOUNTS!!!!***
I went by Sherwin Williams this evenin' and they are having a 40% (forty percent!!!) off sale on paints and stains July 22 (today), 23, and 24 ONLY. I'm about to make some tough decisions and hurry up and get my stuff while the sale lasts. I don't know if ya'll have a Sherwin Williams, but I figure if we do, everyone does. Haha Better check it out!

Thanks, gang!

 

Well, I bought the fencing. Gonna' be delivered tomorrow sometime. 70 6'x8' panels, 78 8' stainless steel posts, 78 dome post caps, nearly 300 pipe grip ties, about 400 1.25" lag screws, and nearly 200 80lb. bags of concrete. They're delivering all this for $40.00. Can ya'll believe that? Can't beat that with a stick!

I also bought 25 gallons of Russet Brown exterior solid stain from Sherwin Williams. I saved around $600 on the stain with their discount that ended a half hour ago. I was really torn on the color. I couldn't decide what color I wanted at all. I generally prefer the look of a darker color. Hopefully it ties in with the landscape and houses. If not, I'm screwed! lol

Hopefully everything works out. Now, how many of ya'll wanna' volunteer to stain a fence and put it up? lol

 

Volunteer
Well maybe, have you got a big shade tree with a nice breeze where I can sit back and tell you you're doing a good job..... and hurry up and bring me another glass of ice tea so you can get back to work

 

Well, I got talked into changing the color of the solid stain at the last minute. Sherwin didn't have the stain on hand when I bought it and will call when it's ready, and I called up there to change the color to Ember. It's considerably lighter a color than Russet Brown. There were concerns the brown was just gonna' be too dark. Haha Luckily it wasn't too late to change it!

Heck yes volunteer! Never heard of that term, huh?

There are a couple of trees on the property, but that nice breeze feels like someone blowing a hot blow drier on you. We're at 44 straight days now with over 100 degree temperatures. Today's forecast is 106 - 110.

Forgot to mention, I got my fencing yesterday!! Took two truck loads to do it. That was the best spent $45 in quite a while. lol Now I just need to keep it from gettin' stolen before it gets put up and get some VOLUNTEERS to help me put it up. Hahaha

 

I would highly suggest stain over paint. And also, I think it is much better to apply stain by hand rather than spraying. Spraying saves allot of time, but like anything, you are not going to get as much quality out of it by taking short cuts. Applying stain by hand is much more thorough and will give you a much better look in the long run. Just my opinion.

Mike Bartlett

 

If the sprayed stain is backrolled or backbrushed - you can get a better job than by brush alone....... and it's usually quicker

When feasible, I like to spray, backroll and spray again. That gives you maximum coating thickness and the best job for the time expended.

 

Mark: Does the original coat of stain still need to be wet when you respray? Seems to me a respray on a dried surface would need to be backbrushed as well.

 

No, I spray, backroll and then spray again - all in about 15 minutes or so. Basically you end up with 1 heavy coat of paint [that couldn't be brushed or rolled that thick] but is still worked into the substrate.