In terms of application, this fence paint will take slightly longer to apply than some others due to the number of coats required. For rough timber you’ll need to apply two coats, while smooth planed wood will need three coats. Write: DIY Garden (Harris Creative Ltd), Lytchett House, 13 Freeland Park, Wareham Road, Poole, Dorset, BH16 6FA Create a strong ‘theme’: choose a colour that matches your flowers or shed. For example, if you have a lot of purple flowers in the garden, painting the fence and/or shed in the same colour can create a cohesive and strong theme for the space. There’s 6 L of fence paint in one tin which is enough to cover approximately 10 fence panels, and it’s available in different colours like ‘Autumn Red’, ‘Rich Oak’ and ‘Rustic Brown’.

Always clean off dirt, mud and mould before fence painting. If your fence is mouldy, then consider applying a fungicidal wash to kill mould and algae before going anywhere near a paint brush. Painting over mould and moss will only result in the paint not adhering well to the wood. The paint dries as either the water or solvent dissolves, and both types of paint have their advantages and disadvantages. Water-Based PaintIt’s also one of the best fence paints to apply at any time of year, because it becomes showerproof within approximately 30 minutes of application. Therefore, even if you can’t rely on there being no drizzle during the whole day, you can still pop some of this paint on during a dry window.

The number of coats you need to apply also depends on the manufacture’s instructions for weatherproofing. For a lot of fence paint brands, one coat is enough to protect your fencing. However, do read the small print before making your choice – there are some paints that may require you to use two coats to fully protect the wood.Also remember that colours may also come out darker than expected, especially once dried, which can really change the look of a garden.