How to Paint a Shed

You have a shed in a corner of your garden? You want to give it a little beauty again? You want to turn your old shed into a new one?

Stay with us, and read this article, it's made for you:

Very useful for storing your gardening equipment and many other objects, your garden shed needs attention and maintenance. It must therefore be taken care of.

Whether it is a wooden or metal garden shed, maintenance is to be provided regularly, to protect it from the weather but also to keep it a neat and aesthetic appearance. The paint also allows you to customize it according to your tastes and the environment, but wood and metal each have their peculiarities, and the paint is to be chosen according to these specificities before moving on to the preparation and application work. You will easily find the necessary products in a hardware store.

If you ever considered painting your shed, here are some tips to help you paint it so it will continue to serve you even longer, especially since there is a wide choice of colours and a lot of shades to satisfy your desires.

You can turn to sober colours: pearl grey, anthracite, taupe, etc. They should associate with your exterior. Moreover, you can match the colours of your cabin to those of your home.

The process to paint your shed will depend of materials and its general state.

 

 

Is today the big day to paint your shed? Come on, let’s go!

Which paint categories to choose for your wooden garden shed?

Make sure you buy the right paint according to whether you want to paint : the inside or outside of your shed.

Indoor Shelter:

Depending on how you use your garden shed, you may or may not use a washable paint. Water paints are odourless and dry very quickly, but solvent paints will last longer and have the advantage of being washable.

Outdoor shelter:

The exterior of a garden hut needs to be protected from the elements: rain, winds, sun, which eventually make the painted surface crack.

How to paint the wooden shelter and with which tools?

The preparation:

A wooden shelter can't be painted without preparation, and this is different depending on whether the shelter has already received a coat of paint or not, whether it is raw or not. Indeed wood absorbs paint, and an uneven surface will not pump in the same way, giving a heterogeneous result. You can choose the colour that you like.

Bare wood

1. First of all, start to clean the surface if the wood is bare or the paint layer is not chipped.
2. Then, sand to remove the roughness of the wood, in the direction of the veins. It can be done with an electric sander.
3. For the next step, placing an underlay on the entire surface makes it easier to colour and is also a guarantee of longevity for the paint. The wood, less porous, will absorb less material. If the wood is not treated, apply the necessary product before the undercoat.
4. Apply two coats for a more durable result : the first coat as primer, and a second coat for a great result. First, apply horizontally and then vertically, pulling your paint well, finaly let it dry. Do it the same way for the second layer. Be careful before passing to the second coat: the support layer must be completely dry !

 

Painted wood

If the shed has already been painted and the previous paint is damaged, it is necessary to remove the old layer, for a good grip and a more homogeneous result. Stripping can be thermal, chemical or mechanical. The steps are then the same as for bare wood.

Opt for good quality rollers and brushes, which will be more efficient and will not leave hair on the painted surface.

To paint the top of your shed you will need to use a telescopic roller, your arms will be grateful for sure!

Painting a metal garden shed:

Little by little, with the bad weather, the protective layer on the metal flakes, and lets the rust attack, which is why it is wise to regularly maintain your metal garden shed. The aluminum garden sheds do not rust, the application of an anti-corrosive is not necessary but the maintenance of the paint allows you to keep a beautiful appearance. To help you, follow our guide on choosing your metal garden shed.

What paint for my metal garden shed ?

Solvent paints are preferred for this type of material, especially glycerophthalic paints that contain anti-rust components. Acrylic paints are to be avoided because they do not fit well on metal.

The preparation :

Carefully clean the entire surface of your garden shed and follow these steps :

1. Apply a thick-layer of anti-rust, brush and let dry before cleaning with burning alcohol.
2. Make an underlay before painting the shelter, unless you have chosen an anti-rust paint that also acts as a finishing paint. Apply at least two coats. If possible, choose your painting work during days without sun so that the paint does not dry too quickly, because it could crack.

 

If the shelter has been attacked by rust, first of all it is necessary to clean these areas, with the help of a steel brush, or with an emery cloth. If your garden shed has already been painted, it must be stripped before proceeding to the previous steps.

 

To conclude:

You will be able to put these great ideas into practice? You can create a real work of art! So why not? Your garden shed won't be a simple building used to store tools and equipment anymore, but a long time element of garden decoration.

 

 

See this picture ? It seems to be just a shed paint, but, it has found a new lease of life and will last for a little while longer, just like yours if you follow the different tips in this article.

We hope that all these advice about how to paint a shed will be useful.

Good luck and good painting !