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. 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.

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. 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. When it comes to fence paint, there are two directions you can go with colour. These are natural hues (like browns and greys) or shades which are more commonly found in the rainbow (reds, oranges, purples).

A 1 L tin provides enough fence paint to cover approximately 12 m² (approximately five fence panels), so it’s one of the more expensive options featured on this list, but the coverage is good and it’s easy to apply, often only requiring one coat. One 5 L tin of One Coat Fence Life covers a large area. According to Ronseal, each litre of paint can cover 6 m² per coat. This means that a 5 L container holds enough product to cover 30 m². 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. 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). 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.

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. Both water-based paint and solvent-based paint can be used on exterior surfaces – as long as the specific paint products states that it’s suitable for this purpose. The paint tin should state whether it is water based or oil/solvent based. 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. 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: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. 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. Cuprinol will likely need to be heavily diluted if used with a paint sprayer, so there is a possibility that another coat will be required in that case. Two coats might also be needed if painting over a darker colour, or applying the paint on fresh wood. 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).

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. 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. In terms of application, this fence paint will take slightly longer to apply than some others due to the number of coats required. For rough timber you’ll need to apply two coats, while smooth planed wood will need three coats. 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 There’s 5 L of fence paint in one tin, so in terms of value-for-money this Sadolin paint sits roughly on par with the Cuprinol fence paint, making it a mid-range option. However, the Sadolin paint may require more coats than the Cuprinol.For the most part, the fence paint colour may look a little different to the swatch colour when first applied, but when dry it’s a better match; however, the ‘Autumn Red’ dries slightly more orange than you might expect. When it comes to the infamous job of painting fences and sheds, there are a few brand names that often come to mind. Ronseal is one of them, and their One Coat Fence Life – Dark Oak treatment is quite a popular choice. This Ronseal fence paint offers good coverage, is easy to apply and is reasonably priced. Therefore, it’s the best fence paint in terms of value for money. This fence paint is not limited to use on rough-sawn timber and can be used on anything from garden fences to playhouses, and even wooden garden furniture. Everything from dining sets to benches can be made a lot more colourful using Johnstone’s Garden Colours, making it possible to create some really decorative and unique pieces. It soaks in to the wood as opposed to sitting on the surface, which can make for a longer-lasting finish.