Painting fence, need suggestions

[N4S]

Well, I live in a 2 apt duplex on the corner in Philadelphia and the fence is really bad.

It's like a dulled out silver.

I want to re-paint it silver but never did this before and need some suggestions.

What is the best paint that would last long and keeps its nice coat?

Best way to paint it? Tried spray painting it last year. lol bad idea.

Should I do it soon while the weather is spring-ish? Or wait till it gets hotter so it dries quicker.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

[jwenker1]

first you are going to want to clean up the fence before you paint it. Get a paint scraper or a wire brush and take off as much old paint as you can, especially the chips that are coming off. If the fence has mildew you can wash it with a diluted solution of tsp or bleach to water (not sure the ratio, but prob a couple capfulls to one gallon H20. After it is cleaned and dry you can paint it with an exterior paint, you can use latex based (water based) or an oil based (which makes cleanup a little harder, but generally goes on thicker.) I would just get an exterior latex. Any sunny day that is above the 50s or 60s should be fine, it will dry faster in the summer but it really doesn't matter. If the fence has wide enough flat areas you can buy a roller to save you some brush-work. just roll everything and go back with a brush and touch up. Hope this helps.

[RobStar]

Cleaning and scraping is a good idea....they do make a specific paint for that application. Benjamin Moore makes an exterior paint designed for metal (chain link fences especially.) It is weatherproof aluminum (colored) paint...their product number is 16478 and it is available in gallons and quarts however I'm not sure about the availability in your area. This product is designed to go on bare metal with no priming necessary. If that isn't available in your area they also make a self priming metal paint called ironclad. It is available in thousand of colors...the product series is 163 at your local Moores dealer or z163 if you need a voc compliant product. Both these are oil-based and can be rolled, brushed or sprayed (when thinned slightly.) If you afre going to spray yu might want to use a HVLP(high volume low pressure) sprayer that can be rented at home depot for a small fee. They work excellent and have minimal amounts of overspray. Good luck

[N4S]

Wow thanks for the tips. Perfect!

[West Coast Jungle]

Cleaning and scraping is a good idea....they do make a specific paint for that application. Benjamin Moore makes an exterior paint designed for metal (chain link fences especially.) It is weatherproof aluminum (colored) paint...their product number is 16478 and it is available in gallons and quarts however I'm not sure about the availability in your area. This product is designed to go on bare metal with no priming necessary. If that isn't available in your area they also make a self priming metal paint called ironclad. It is available in thousand of colors...the product series is 163 at your local Moores dealer or z163 if you need a voc compliant product. Both these are oil-based and can be rolled, brushed or sprayed (when thinned slightly.) If you afre going to spray yu might want to use a HVLP(high volume low pressure) sprayer that can be rented at home depot for a small fee. They work excellent and have minimal amounts of overspray. Good luck

I am a contrator and that is excellent advice

Benjamin Moore rocks