Strip paint off fence

[nisryus]

So my HOA sent me a compliant warning because the paint on one side of my fence was peeling (next to neighbor A). I have to repaint that, plus use matching color on the other fence (next to neighbor B).

Only the side of the fence adjunct to neighbor A was painted by my old neighbor (he was painting his side and told us he was happy to paint mine too) years ago, but only now the HOA said something!

The other fence with neighbor B was never painted.

Can i use a power washer to strip the paint? Or would it be better to sand it first before power washing it? The peeling wasn't that bad, but since it was painted maroon, it kind of obvious if you look from afar.

 

[Greenman]

Power washer might do the job, it also might chew through the fence boards.

 

[Klingenberg]

Power washer could work, but it might damage the wood. Sand a bit first, then use the washer on a low setting to clean it up.

 

[nisryus]

I hadn't thought of power wash might damage the boards. Thanks for the info, Greenman and Klingenberg.

 

[pete6032]

What type of material is the fence made out of? If we are talking about a cedar picket fence I would first look at the condition of the pickets before trying to strip paint off. Pickets are cheap and painting old worn out pickets can be a major hassle.

 

[nisryus]

Its cedar pickets. Since we could borrow the power washer, we thoguht we will try to be a little gentle and see if we can strip the paint off a small piece first.

 

[pete6032]

Its cedar pickets. Since we could borrow the power washer, we thoguht we will try to be a little gentle and see if we can strip the paint off a small piece first.

How old are the pickets? Are they pitted or cracking? If they are old they will be a PITA to paint because you might have to sand them down first.

 

[Ken g6]

A chemical paint stripper might help as well.

The 5 Best Paint Strippers (2024 Review)

Paint strippers help you remove paint from your walls and other surfaces smoothly. This review examines the best paint strippers available on Amazon.

www.thisoldhouse.com

 

[Greenman]

So my HOA sent me a compliant warning because the paint on one side of my fence was peeling (next to neighbor A). I have to repaint that, plus use matching color on the other fence (next to neighbor B).

Only the side of the fence adjunct to neighbor A was painted by my old neighbor (he was painting his side and told us he was happy to paint mine too) years ago, but only now the HOA said something!

The other fence with neighbor B was never painted.

Can i use a power washer to strip the paint? Or would it be better to sand it first before power washing it? The peeling wasn't that bad, but since it was painted maroon, it kind of obvious if you look from afar.

How much fence are we talking about? Cedar fence boards are $3 each, might be better off just replacing the boards.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Power washer might do the job, it also might chew through the fence boards.

Yup power washers are great at this but it comes with this warning. For me it feels very satisfying getting literally all but a fraction of the paint off but doing this makes the wood “fuzzy” and weird looking. Power washers work great for loose paint but it is really easy to over clean the wood and damage it. Go slow and use caution and it will be fine.
For what you describe I’d get or use a mid range powered sander, light wash with hose or washer (apply some kind of cleaner that’s made for outdoor use). Let it dry for a day or two, use a good bonding primer (stix is a good one to use), then apply paint. Get at minimum a mid grade paint to ensure it lasts longer.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Also I am assuming this is pint and not stain

 

[nisryus]

Yep, my neighbor had painted it, not stain.

We just borrowed one of the Sun Joe power washer from my Trxxp loving neighbor and will give it a try tomorrow. Yeah, will heed everyone's warning and go gentle and slow.

If that doesn't work well, we will got to Home Depot and get new pickets.

 

[nisryus]

Was able to strip much of the paint off with tool (power washer i borrowed was broken.. thanks neighbor!)

after much elbow grease, got 98% of old paint off. looked ok from a distance. hope HOA is ok with that now.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Was able to strip much of the paint off with tool (power washer i borrowed was broken.. thanks neighbor!)

after much elbow grease, got 98% of old paint off. looked ok from a distance. hope HOA is ok with that now.

Sun Joe stuff sucks like that. Works pretty good until it fails.
I won a Sun Joe dethatcher thing worked awesome, for 20 minutes then it broke by hitting a root in the ground. ALL THE GEARS ARE PLASTIC!
Fortunately I didn’t pay for it but come on I am not exaggerating it literally worked for 20 minutes.

 

[nisryus]

I return the power washer to the neighbor and he took it, asked if i had 'fixed' it for him lol

of course i didn't because it was not mine! he always look for freebie, but not this time.