Painting fences isn’t only crucial to improve a property’s aesthetics and curb appeal, but it is also essential to enhance the durability of the fence and improve its longevity. Paints, outside of being colour agents, also protect the fence wood from UV rays, excessive humidity, and moulding.

Choosing the right time to apply fence paint is critical to the success of the endeavour, and in this article, we’ll go over everything property owners need to know about when and how to paint fences!

What Is the Best Time to Paint a Fence?

  • Temperature: Painting a fence is usually best in moderate temperatures ranging from 15 to 25 degrees Celsius. Cold temperatures not only make it inconvenient to comfortably spend time outside and properly focus on the paint job, but the humidity and the cold make it harder for the paint to properly adhere to the fence wood. Hotter temperatures are similarly uncomfortable to paint in and negatively impact the quality of the fence paint, especially oil-based ones, which are both extremely sensitive to high temperatures and highly flammable.
  • Weather condition: Obviously, if it is snowing, raining, or hailing, you can’t paint. Wet fences won’t absorb the paint properly, whether it is oil or water-based. Clear skies with sunny weather is the best time to paint fences! This isn’t common British weather, so you should check the weather forecast regularly to look out for a dry day when you can paint your fence!
  • Wind: Lower wind speeds are essential when painting a fence. High wind speeds can make painting inconvenient, damage your tools, and make the paint look spotty in places.
  • Time of day: As long as it is bright outside, the time of day isn’t particularly relevant, but you have to be careful, painting an entire fence can take hours, sometimes multiple days. You need to begin early enough to ensure you can finish the paint job before it gets dark out! Painting in the dark, even if there’s ample artificial lighting, is not recommended as it leads to errors, accidents, and sometimes even injuries.
  • Season: Weather is relatively uniform in the UK with no extremes, so painting a fence during any season is viable. But generally speaking, the warmer months of summer are the best time to paint a fence, with appropriate temperatures, relatively lower precipitation, and sunny weather.

Important Fence Painting Tips

Painting your fence might appear simple, but there are common pitfalls many property owners fall into due to inexperience. Here are some key tips that will ensure your fence painting project is a success!

#1 Understand the Difference Between Oil-based Paint and Water-based Paint

There are countless types of fence paints, but they broadly fall under two categories: water-based and oil-based paints. Understanding the difference between these two categories of paint is very important when choosing the right paint for your fence:

  • Water-based paints: water-based paints are the most common. They are reliable and easy to apply. Combined with their fast drying time, they are certainly a favourite among homeowners. Sadly, they can be a bit dull in colour and are susceptible to chipping and peeling as the fence ages.
  • Oil-based paints: oil-based paints provide a glossy smooth finish that is more resistant to chipping and physical impact, and usually last longer than water-based paints. They are not without their downsides, however: They are harder to apply, permanent as they seep into the wood, and are more sensitive to humidity and temperature.

#2 Prepare the Fence and Tools Properly

While waiting for appropriate weather to paint your fence is important, it is equally important you’ve prepared both your fence and the necessary tools to perform the job quickly and successfully.

Tools you need vary, but generally, you need a wide brush, a paint sprayer, plastic sheeting, a bucket, and a sponge. These tools are thankfully easily accessible, but you need to make sure they’re all ready beforehand to not cause undue delays.

Sometimes, you also need to prepare your fence before painting. This could include cleaning up the surrounding areas, raking in the autumn leaves, or making sure the kids aren’t home so you have both the space and focus necessary for painting your fence properly. Make sure you remove any old paint or prior coating from the fence to ensure the new paint adheres properly. Lastly, if your fence has any rough areas or needs repairs, you should do the necessary repairs before you paint your fence!

#3 Choose the Right Fence Paint

Beyond broad categories, selecting a specific faint paint is highly important. From the colour of the paint to its characteristics, its brand, and its quality, they’ll all impact the quality of the paint job!

There’s no single “right” paint for a fence. Rather, it largely depends on your needs and preferences. Are you painting a garden fence? Perhaps a vibrant-coloured paint will complement the flowers in your garden best. Maybe you are painting the fence of your suburban home? A matt colour that complements the exterior of the property will give you the modern look you are after!

Paint a Fence FAQ

Is It Okay to Paint a Fence in the Winter?

Though a common advice you’ll hear on the internet is that “you shouldn’t paint fences in the winter.” This doesn’t apply to the UK. In Britain, the winter is only marginally wetter than other seasons, so as long as you pay attention to the weather forecast, and choose a period with a dry spell, painting a fence in the winter is perfectly fine.

What Is the Best Weather to Paint an Outdoor Fence?

The best weather for both constructing and painting weather is clear skies, moderate temperatures between 15 to 25 degrees, little to no wind, and the weather forecast showing there won’t be rain the following day.

Clear skies and direct sunlight help the paint dry faster, the lack of wind allows you to apply the paint freely, and no upcoming wet spells ensure the paint job properly settles!

How Long After Rain Can You Paint a Fence?

Though it depends on the season and the duration of the rain, usually, it is okay to start painting a fence a day or two after it has rained. This gives the ground and the fence’s exterior wood enough time to dry up, making the paint job a relatively simple task.

If you are both constructing and painting a fence, however, you ideally need to wait an additional day before you start. This ensures the soil beyond the surface is also properly dry, which is necessary to properly erect fence posts!