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Neighbor and I are going to seal and paint a newly installed redwood fence. The painted area is about 60 feet long by 6 feet high and would involve both sides so, that is 720 square feet.
My understanding is we would have to seal it first. After sealing it we would paint it with two light coats.
Not sure how much paint this would require.
I called Home Depot and they rent paint sprayers but they are pretty heavy duty, spraying from 10 gallons containers minimum, and they are something like $65 for 24 hours. (Not sure if we would need it for more than 24 hours either considering sealing, drying, and painting two coats.)
I could buy a paint sprayer starting at around $60 and my neighbor and I could simply share it.
Any tips? Would ten gallons be more than we would need? Meaning, we shouldn't even consider renting. How much paint and sealer per coat might we need for 720 square feet? What's the estimated calculation (like sqft per gallon)?
What would a recommended sealer be? (We already know the paint from our HOA literature.)
Redwood is very EXPENSIVE and loaded with natural tannins / oils that, in addition to making it extremely durable / resisitant to insects, make it hostile to any paint.
If you wanted to get a "paint grade" fence you could have saved a bundle with a lower cost wood.
Never use a "sprayer" to cover a fence -- it does a lousy job and even the best spray guns will waste a ton of product with anykind of fence.
Most products designed to "seal" decks or fences speficially say that using them will diminish the ability of other products (like paint or stain) to adhere to the surface.
Finally NEVER, I mean never, listen to any advice from dopes at Home Depot! The firms that cater to professional painters will have far better products for an expensive redwood fence.
Charles, I'm strongly suggesting you not do anything to the fence. Being redwood it's not going to hold up-paint or stain. You also have the issue that if you paint or stain now that the pickets are up the pickets WILL crook on you with the first rain cycle. The issue is you can paint/stain the tops, faces both sides, and the edges but you can't paint/stain the bottoms. Rain water will be wicked up into the cell structure of the wood which is not the problem. The problem is when the sun comes out and the moisture tries to get out. It's going to take the coating off and while it's doing this, because of uneven drying, it's going to crook and cup on you. It won't take long and the fence will look like this:
Home owner's associations often have "color guidelines"...
I know that some HOAs have too many busy bodies that will go ballistic when someone "violates the covenants" but the fact is that a REDWOOD fence should not be painted. Any doofus from the HOA that is opposed to the fence natural color needs to get out more...
I can understand if some nut cases try to paint something that looks like a graffiti mural on their fence, or gets some junk wood that turns to splinters in a season or too but anybody that spends good money on a quality REDWOOD fence ought not be a cause for concern...
We have to paint it. It has to be a certain color (sort of an off white).
So, with that, what process should I follow? What kind of stain? How much will I need? Should I buy a sprayer or rent a big one? I don't mind wasting some product if it makes the job significantly easier (as someone recommended not using a sprayer).
If you have any ability to APPEAL to the LOGIC I would 100% contact the HOA and lay out the fact that you paid a boatload for REDWOOD and are certain that changing its color to "off white" is not the right solution. Sounds like the neighbor helped with this project, if they are the only one effected I would have them send a letter in support allowing to remain natural color.
Of course if there are too many small minded busy bodies and you are forced to change the color you will need to get the right product and that is NOT PAINT. The right product is a exterior solid color stain approved for use on redwood, that almost certainly means alkyd oil product as the natural oils in redwood are prone to "bleed though" latex based stains.
The technical data sheet I linked to above from Sikkens is pretty typical -- it speficially says to NOT USE A SPRAYER, and instead use a quality bristle brush so the stain is worked into the surface. As others have said, if you knew the fence had to be color finished you should have had the boards coated on ALL sides prior to installation as wicking moisture from the bottom can destroy fence quickly and having it "trapped" by a film forming solid color stain can worsen the problem...
I really feel bad for you and hope there is way to gr the HOA to recognize the superiority of not ruining an expensive redwood fence.
OP For the fence I would only use an Oil Based Solid Body pigmented stain in white. You will need at least two coats. Go to a professional paint store. Spend a little extra upfront for many many years of enjoyment.
If you do a good first job you can probably get 7-10 years out of it before a refinish is required.
NO sprayer. Brush is best, next best roller.
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