How to paint my metal fence?

[jbradbs]

Hi, Looking to paint our back fence,  it’s an old corrugated iron/metal that has faded quite a bit. Wanting some reassurance that if I am just able to give it a bit of a quick brush/clean then apply some sort of metal paint over the top that it should come up looking a bit better. Would there be anything else required? Also looking for recommendations on colours and to see what products would best suit this

cheers 

josh

 

[EricL]

Hello @jbradbs

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about painting your metal fence.

Thank you very much for posting photos of your fence. Generally, I would recommend washing the fence with a pressure washer, but it looks like the fence is only held in place by that timber piece in the middle. Can you please tell us more about the overall strength of the fence? Can it withstand pressure cleaning? Can it put up with the pressure of a roller or a brush?

In situations such as this, I suggest using a paint sprayer so that you get a uniform finish on the fence without seeing brush strokes or roller marks. This also prevents stressing the overall structure of the fence. I recommend using exterior paint for the fence, these products are often self-priming, but if the surface is too shiny, I propose using White Knight Rust Guard Medium Grey Metal Primer Paint. This primer will prepare the surface of the metal so that you can paint it.

Here is a handy step-by-step guide: How to paint a fence with a spray gun

Let me call on our experienced members @Adam_W and Chaks_DIY for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Adam_W]

Hi @jbradbs Josh,
When you want to paint metal like that agree with @EricL's comment on using a sprayer as corrugated tin can be really challenging to paint well.
It's also best is you use a primer first, something like this.
Also as per Eric's comment about the fence structure... looks to be a sheets have been screwed onto an old 1.2m high front fence. A few issues there...

- The timber rails look to be on their last legs & may well need replacing. I'd imagine that the required pressure cleaning will seriously damage the timber in-fact.

- Structurally that fence is a problem. With supports only running to halfway the sheets are very poorly supported, technically posts should be run all the way to the top and there should be a rail there too. The biggest concern is wind resistance - a big wind-storm will rip the sheets straight off the existing rails.
I actually think you may need to do a wee bit more than just a coat of paint I'm afraid.

[jbradbs]

Thank you @Adam_W & @EricL 

Yes agree the fence does need replacing so will be looking at doing that eventually. Not sure if it would survive a full pressure wash but definitely is strong enough to last a little while more before I get rid of it. Will look at getting paint sprayer and giving it a crack. Cheers