Onto the colour – this Slate Grey fence paint offers a contemporary, rich finish. It’s a deep colour and the paint applies well, so it often only needs one coat. It’s the best fence paint for keeping mess to a minimum, and can be applied with either a brush or a spray gun. Although it achieves good coverage most of the time with just one coat, there are some instances where two coats might be required. For example: Although only one coat is required, if you’re covering a bright or very rich colour, you may wish to apply an extra coat of this Ronseal fence paint depending on personal preference. For reference: a 5 – 6 L tin of paint will cover approximately 30 m² (about 10 fence panels) . Although, of course, this depends on how many coats are needed. A 9 L tin can cover around 54 m² ( up to 17 fence panels) . You can choose from natural wood shades, with brown and red hues, or go for a pop of colour to really brighten up the garden.

Finally, the coverage: one litre of this paint can cover up to 6m², so the 5L pot should contain enough paint to cover 30m²– approximately six shed panels (depending on how many coats you have to do).From plum, to lime, to berry, there are a lot of loud colour options available in this Johnstone’s Garden Colours range, as well as some more neutral tones like ‘Vintage Rose’ and ‘Natural Vanilla’. Choose water-based paint if you want a fast-drying fence paint that is more environmentally friendly . Water-based paints extend well over surfaces and you won’t need to use chemicals to clean the brushes. Plus, lighter colours (like white) won’t yellow over time. Painting a lighter colour over a darker one will likely always result in some of the base colour showing through. Better results will be achieved with several coats of paint, but there’s always a risk that it won’t turn out quite as vibrant as expected. There are several colours in the Ronseal Fence Life range including: Gold, Medium Oak, and Dark Oak. I’m focusing this review on the Dark Oak colour which dries as a dark chocolate and has a matt finish. It’s a rich, warm colour to use in the garden. One coat should be sufficient on most rough-sawn timber if painted over a lighter colour. Create a strong ‘theme’: choose a colour that matches your flowers or shed. For example, if you have a lot of purple flowers in the garden, painting the fence and/or shed in the same colour can create a cohesive and strong theme for the space.

The paint dries as either the water or solvent dissolves, and both types of paint have their advantages and disadvantages. Water-Based Paint As a general rule, darker colour fence paints may be able to get away with one coat, depending on the original colour of the wooden fence. More vibrant colours are more likely to require a second coat (or maybe even a third). Contain less VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that solvent-based paints. Extended exposure to VOCs can cause health problems, and VOCs are also considered bad for the environment – they can contribute to the increase of ground-level ozone (smog) which can lead to global warming.

Our paint can only be used on a warm day with the temperature above 10°C and make sure there’s no rain forecast. It’s also one of the best fence paints to apply at any time of year, because it becomes showerproof within approximately 30 minutes of application. Therefore, even if you can’t rely on there being no drizzle during the whole day, you can still pop some of this paint on during a dry window. Some fences may only require one coat, but it’s more common to need two or three. The drying time between coats is around 2 – 4 hours and the overall drying time should no more than 5 hours in total.

On that note, let’s take a look at the durability. This fence paint offers good weather protection from rain, snow, frost and UV damage, with the colour lasting for around five years.

When fence painting with a brush, you should work with the direction of the wood grain. If painting with a spray gun, you should work in sections, moving the paint sprayer left to right over the section whilst working either top to bottom or bottom to top. This fence paint is intended for use on rough-sawn timber, so it’s suitable for painting a lot of different exterior wood like wood stores, sheds and fences. However, it’s not recommended for smoother wood like garden furniture.

Fence Life Plus can be applied when the wood is damp, but not wet. So if it’s rained on the day of application, you need to wait for five hours before putting it on. The treatment can’t be applied in the rain. It needs to be a warm, dry day with temperatures above 10°C. Cold weather will stop it from drying. Clean the wood with a stiff brush to remove any dirt. Another benefit of this fence paint is that it can be applied on either damp or dry wood, although it still needs to be applied on a dry day. This means that even if there have been a few days of rain, you can still paint your fence or shed once the sky clears. Personal preference of course plays a huge part in what colour paint you should choose. But there are a couple of things to bear in mind on top of that: Choosing a Colour Based on Function This fence paint is wax enriched, which helps with repelling water from the surface, and it offers an all-weather barrier to protect exterior wood. The ‘Ebony Wood’ is perfect for anyone wishing to create dark, striking fences. This Sadolin Shed and Fence Woodstain is the best fence paint if you’re looking for something that will freshen up the appearances of fences whilst also offering weather protection for several years.

How to paint your fence

Always clean off dirt, mud and mould before fence painting. If your fence is mouldy, then consider applying a fungicidal wash to kill mould and algae before going anywhere near a paint brush. Painting over mould and moss will only result in the paint not adhering well to the wood.