Help Tom Sawyer Out With This Here Fence

September 2, 2018 8:33 AM

I want to whitewash the old wood picket fence in my backyard. How should I prep the food, and what kind of paint should I use?

The wooden fence is old, and I think a little paint could spruce it up.

How should I prep the wood? A wash will be in order; there is moss/lichen growing on parts of it.

What kind of paint should I use?

posted by ThePinkSuperhero to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

Response by poster: Prep the food, lol. Of course I meant "prep the fence".
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:36 AM on September 2, 2018 [3 favorites]

Are you literally interested in whitewash as the medium? Or just white paint suitable for an old wood fence?
posted by Glomar response at 9:11 AM on September 2, 2018

Response by poster: I want to whitewash- don’t think the fence could stand solid color.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:29 AM on September 2, 2018

Best answer: You want it to be as dry as possible, so check weather reports. Mow the area on both sides of it quite well.
posted by theora55 at 10:02 AM on September 2, 2018

Best answer: Get one of the cleaners recommended for deck painting (wood) prep. The stuff is usually sprayed on with a pump sprayer, then hosed off after 10 minutes. For the encrusted moss you'll need to scrub/pry off the majority. Then for easy application of stain or whitewash use a pump sprayer.
posted by mightshould at 12:24 PM on September 2, 2018

Best answer: What you want is white stain, which will be absorbed into the wood and looks like paint. I did my picket fence with this at the recommendation of several people and it looks beautiful after 3 years. I used this one on the lower pressure setting.
posted by waving at 4:30 PM on September 2, 2018