Fence panel dilemma

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

We need to stain our fence but we are unsure of which stain colour to choose. It’s such an important decision for us because it’s a massive part of our garden feature. Our aim is to get it looking like hardwood (we have used softwood to keep a lid on cost!) and we’d rather not have colours such as black, grey, greens, blues, purples etc but a proper wooden fence type of colour. Any suggestions for which brand of stain to use and also the colour of stain to use is most welcome.

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Comments (4)

Emily
5 years ago
Fences can be so different to paint or stain I think, some are really hard and others much easier. My last house had a good quality modern fence with horizontal slats and I stained each slat a different colour and it looked really good. I can’t remember what make the stain was but it had lots of varieties such as walnut rosewood teal and mahogany.
Anyhow, why not post a pic of your fence from a distance and close up and you might get some more ideas.
rachelmidlands
5 years ago
I think if you’re after a traditional fence treatment then look no further than creosote, or creosote substitute that is mostly sold in shops. It’s smelly to put on but the oils seep into the wood for better protection. My old neighbour did her fence every other year with the stuff and that fence has been there at least 40 years and looks good as new. Problem is the fence panels would need to be treated on both sides for best protection so if they’re already installed and you have neighbours who’d rather not have creosote then I’d use a general fence stain. Not sure if any brand is better than another but Cuprinol is a common one.
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Agree with Oasys. Where wooden posts could rot is in the ground however, so make sure they are properly protected at ground level and the timber isn't actually touching the earth. Colour wise you could perhaps consider an ash-white exterior wood stain for the posts. I really like the colour if your panels.
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Valspar at B&Q do an outside wood / metal paint range - therefore, you can have any colour mixed. If you find a shade on any object that you like, you can get it scanned and the paint made up. - You can also buy the masonry paint in the same colour and do the concrete then. Just remember to get it saved on their system under your name as a custom colour, then if you need more or a touch up in the future you be able to buy the same colour.
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Oooh... lovely! I always wondered what volcanic ash looks like, now I know:). Fence does seem a bit in your face but if you leave it it will age to a weathered silver over time. If you do want to paint it dark then I agree with other comments that it would look best with lots of green foliage in front. I’d perhaps go for a contrast with a very pale green or French grey. Check out this blog for some ideas: http://rockmystyle.co.uk/on-the-fence/ And I would definitely paint the chair a nice bright colour such as bright blue, or pink, or yellow, or purple or....... :-)
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We also have Silver Copse for our fence and painted the posts in the same colour. Johnstones did a purpose made mix for me in a Matt finish. See pic below
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nicolajkeates
Original Author
5 years ago

Thanks both, this is really helpful.

I’ll post some more pictures in a mo. I’m keen to explore painting the horizontal slats in different shades of stain - maybe you used Cuprinol which seems to be very popular? The builder who is doing the work suggested this as an option and the using a rag to rub over it...but that sounds frightening.....

Its a very contemporary modern finish/look that I’m after and we have had the backs of each slat protected with a dark coloured creosote and then the front slats have had a clear Cuprinol put on. It’s just the colour of the stain that we choose that is now bothering me. Can I ask you to shed some more info on staining each slats in a different colour of stain? Thank you in advance. We also have to stain the pergola too....and we’re thinking along the lines of a wenge/black colour?
Emily
5 years ago
It looks like a nice smooth quality fence and I would think it looks good as it is. But my personal preference is for darker wood too and I tried to give the impression of expensive cedar fence slats which I think I did manage quite well. I did buy four or five shades of stain and I think it might have been exterior wood window stain so better quality than normal fence stain. But the stain goes a long way as long as you don’t paint in full sun while it’s hot. I also mixed some of the stains to give some shades in between so probably ended up with about 8 shades. It’s a bit of effort but I thought it was worth it. :)

Fence panel dilemma

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Emily

rachelmidlands

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Emily

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Fence panel dilemma

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Emily

rachelmidlands

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Emily

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