How to Paint a Metal Fence

It's important to regularly maintain a metal garden fence, so it can withstand any weather. Especially in the Caribbean climate. This step-by-step guide explains how to paint a metal fence.

Step 1: Determining the metal of the garden fence
There are various types of metals used for making fences. Fences can be made out of steel, iron, as well as wrought iron, cast iron, and stainless steel. You can only decide which type of paint to use once you know the material your fence is made of.

Is the fence constructed from steel, cast iron, or wrought iron, also known by ferrous metals?

You can identify these types of metals by their magnetic properties and their tendency to develop rust spots quickly. Ferrous metals can be treated with metal paint. This type of paint is available in various colors and finishes, such as high gloss.

Is the fence made of aluminum, galvanized metal, stainless steel, or zinc, also called non-ferrous metals? This type of metal is usually not magnetic and doesn't rust.

Step 2: Testing metal paint or aluzinc paint
First, test a small amount of metal paint or aluzinc paint on a small section of the fence. If the paint layer shows no irregularities, such as wrinkles or paint lifting, after an hour, you can proceed to use metal paint or aluzinc paint directly without rust treatment or primer.

Step 3: Removing the old paint layer
If the old paint layer has too many imperfections, it's better to remove it. First, scrape off the old paint layer from the fence or use a paint stripper to remove it. Let it sit for one hour. Put on safety goggles while using a paint stripper. Remove the dried layer with a wire brush.

Step 4: Sanding the fence
Gently sand the fence using a sanding block and remove the generated sanding dust with a soft brush. Wear a dust mask while sanding.

Step 5: Degreasing the iron garden fence
To improve the paint adhesion, degrease the cleaned area using a metal degreaser and a cloth. Rinse the fence with clean water to ensure no residues of the metal degreaser remain.

Step 6: Applying the primer
Apply anti-rust primer to the surface. For the parts of ferrous metal use the metal primer and for the parts of non-ferrous metals use the universal primer. Use a brush to apply the primer.

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Step 7: Painting the metal fence
Now you can start applying the metal paint to the fence. Because you used primer for the galvanized metal it gives you the option to apply metal paint to these parts of the fence. Metal paints are available in many more colors and varieties than aluzinc paint.

Step 8: After painting
Planning to reuse the brushes later? Wrap them tightly in aluminum foil or place the brushes and paint rollers in a container of water or white spirit. This will keep your painting tools in good condition for several days.

And there you have it. Now you can maintain your metal fence or simply just give it a new look.