Fence paint - do more coats last longer?

dcouponzzzz

Afternoon all, 

Apologies for my ignorance, and this may be an obvious question.... but do more coats of fence paint mean it can be painted less often? 

We've had a new fence installed, and the panels that will be covered by a new shed won't be accessible after this weekend. 

Using Ronseal fence+ 5 years that states '5 years protection from 2 coats', but I can't find any information on whether an extra coat or two would extend that, even by a year? 

I appreciate any help at all, even critical feedback  

Thanks!

Dave

koalakoala

I always think so. We usually put 3 coats on ours

Slinky

If you can't get to the fence because the shed is very close, it's likely to receive some protection from the shed I would have thought, unless the roof is directing rain onto it.

Belenus

dcouponzzzz said:

We've had a new fence installed, and the panels that will be covered by a new shed won't be accessible after this weekend. 

That means that the side of the shed will not be accessible either.

Ideally all sides should be accessible for maintenance, coating with preservative etc.

Is it essential to have the shed so close to the fence?

briclegg

Can you not leave about a 3foot gap between the fence and shed which would allow enough room for you to maintain both the fence and shed side with more coats as necessary..Also what if your fence needs repairing etc at some stage?

Bendy_House

Dcoup, yes, more coats will give longer and better protection. This applies to both the fence and shed...

So, if you cannot avoid this gap, then I'd soak the soon-to-be-inaccessible surfaces with Everbuild wood preserver or similar, concentrating on the near-ground areas, and surfaces where water could pool or get into joints, allow that to dry, and then start to apply coats of surface finish. Also get this into these joints and gaps - follow the path that water will take, and get the finish into these. And four coats. Ok, five. Especially at the bottoms.

Then, good advice above - design the shed so that roof run-off doesn't end up on the fence or shed wall - a nice overhang and guttering is best. Or a sloping roof, highest at the back.


The fence will help protect the shed, and vicky verka. 

How big a shed? Could it ultimately be levered sideways to allow access if needed? You should, tho', be good for waaaay over a decade.

Phil4432

In my experience yes, depending on prep and paint.  Did 3 coats of Ronseal plus on first shed, 2 coats on another and used One Coat Ronseal on the fence.

3 coats needed a very minimum touch up after winter, 2 coats more so and one coat I wouldn't use again.

Worth noting that the with the 3 coats, I did a light key.  The others I pressure washed, no key.

jennifernil

For a long lasting treatment, I would use Sadolin or Jotun Demidekk.

Expensive, but long lasting.

Lots  of colours available.

Bendy_House

A better product than standard fence/ shed paint makes sense. 

The main long term issue you'd want to avoid is timber rot, so I'd still recommend a good application of actual preservative first, making sure it soaks into all the places that rain will do. That includes around screw/nail heads. 

Grenage

I'll play the other side here and say that you don't need to paint pressure-treated fencing; I never do.  Painted fences need regular touch-ups to not look naff.  It's a complete waste of time and adds little to the lifespan.

If you do paint then you want to wait a good time before painting anyway.  The wood is unlikely to be dry enough.

Bendy_House

Good point.

What about a water repellent, then, after the preservative? Clear, watery, soaks right in, won't peel or fade, but should actually prevent the rain from penetrating the timber. Dead easy to apply with a pressure sprayer, too, and it should then end up exactly where rain would