Talking About Fence Materials

The Basics of Painting an Iron Fence

If you have ornamental iron fencing around your home that has seen better days, you may be wondering how you can spruce it up. One way to do this is by painting the surface so it looks brand new again. Here are some tips for painting iron fencing material so you can do the job on your own.

Get the Right Tools

You'll need the right tools for the job before you're able to get started, many of which can be brought from a hardware store.

  • Sponge
  • Drop cloth
  • Painting tape
  • Paint
  • Sealant
  • Paint Sprayer

Clean the Material

The first step before you paint should be to clean the fencing material. This can be done by taking a sponge and dipping it in soapy water, then scrubbing all surfaces of the fencing material to get rid of stains, debris, dust, and dirt. The fence will need some time to dry afterward, but cleaning the surface will help ensure the paint sticks to it later on.

Prep the Fence

It helps to put a drop cloth underneath the fencing material so that you don't get paint on the surfaces underneath. You'll also want to use painting tape to protect hardware that you don't want covered in paint. This includes hinges for gates and things of that nature.

Paint the Surface

All you need to do to paint the surface is fill up a paint sprayer with your color of choice, then spray all 4 sides of each post of iron fencing material. Once it has dried, apply a second coat of paint. This can help outdoor materials since it will see more wear and tear from the weather.

Seal the Surface

Once the second coat of paint has dried, you can apply a clear sealant to the material in a similar manner that that the paint was applied. A single coat of the sealant is all that is needed to finish this painting job.

Complete the Job

After the coat of sealant has completely dried, you can start removing the drop cloth and painting tape from around the fence. Clean out the paint sprayer so that it stays in good condition, and you'll be good to go.

If you are not up to the challenge of painting your iron fence, speak to a fencing contractor for assistance. They are able to help you out with fence maintenance that you don't want to do on your own.


Share