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Painting Galvanized Steel Fence?
We have a large fenced area off the patio for our small dog. It is galvanized steel BUT brown vinyl coated chain link/ post. It's so soft our new lab mix dog just pushes it out and slides under it, or lifts it with his jaws/ teeth! SO, we are in process of having a large run done along side it that is ALL heavier galvanized steel for the Lab. We got brown years ago as it looked nicer and met our needs then. Now, posts/ hardware have all faded and need painted..The installer of new fence is saying the galvanized CAN be painted, to be less of an eye sore and match the existing brown BUT to wait to this fall until it's "weathered" first. Won't it rust by then? New area is 36' x 16' - difficult to do w/ a spray can! Any other options?
Can we rent/ purchase a sprayer that will spray an appropriate type paint for BOTH the new galvanized link and old vinyl posts? What type? If not, what type paint/sprayer for the galvanized only? If any of you have DONE this, ANY tips, cautions, etc?
Installer does not do the painting so it has to be a DIY for us. I have painted other metal outdoor things w/ Rustoleum but this is huge job.
Does a large sprayer even exist for this type thing? Doesn't "spray paint" have to be under pressure as opposed to the type of paint sprayer you'd use to paint a large outdoor wood fence?
Do any of yopu know if painting contractors do this sort of thing?
If you have painted a galvanized fence before- how did it turn out?
A detailed answer would be appreciated, as although there are not a lot of DIY projects we have not done, as you can tell, I have no clue where to start with painting this fence or if it can even be done! Thanks again!
4 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
I noticed yesterday that come paint I purchase said to allow galvanized metal to weather for 6 months before painting. This was on a can of paint from Lowe,s. I remember when I worked in an auto body shop we would wash galvanized metal panels with vinegar before applying primer.
If the fence is galvanized it will not rust for many years unless the galvanized coating has been scratched off. The paint I got at Lowe's did not require a primer and could be sprayed on with an electric paint gun which are not to expensive and are good to have around the house for other painting projects.
- PolyhistorLv 71 decade ago
I would wash it down with a little tide mixed in water and then wait for that to dry and then pickle it with vinegar. There might be some oils on the metal and the tide will remove that, but then you have to sort of etch it and vinegar does that.
At that point, I would get a Rustoleum primer coat and over that apply what ever color you want.
Spraying a chain link fence is not very smart as most of your paint will just fly off into space. I would stop by the Dulux store and get some of their fast drying, about 3-4 hours, industrial grade enamel (you can get your primer there also and it does not have to be Rustoleum) and apply it with a roller. You are going to have some run and drip problems, but that just comes with working with a chain link fence
Source(s): 6 years in the paint industry, four years in the Navy, and many more years painting on a semiprofessional basis. - 1 decade ago
Does sound like a big job. If not done properly the paint will chip and look terrible.
An alternative may be to purchase brown, plastic privacy slats that you weave into the chain link fence. Then all you have to contend with is painting the posts.
Source(s): Just two of many privacy slat resellers. You may want to shop around on Google or Ebay: http://www.fenceinserts.com/ (Can select brown from drop down list) http://www.fenceinserts.com/