How to: paint the garden shed
"How do I paint my wooden garden shed? How can I give my garden shed a fresh new colour and at the same time protect it from rain and/or rising damp? What should I use: oil, wood stain or lacquer?"
On this page, you'll find all the answers, in the form of handy step-by-step instructions, accompanied by a selection of our best wood protection products for your garden shed.
Step 1: Preparation
Step 2: Wood treatment
As with all paint jobs, cleaning and properly preparing the surface is an important step to take before starting to paint your garden shed.
The first thing to do is therefore to make it clean. A garden shed that already has a considerable lifespan and that has withstood many weather influences, might be a little bit of a challenge to clean. But not to worry: a few simple things can already get you a long way!
Start off with a duster, to remove cobwebs, loose dirt or sand. Next, wash the garden shed, by simply using water and a household detergent. Use a soft cloth or a sponge so you don't damage the wood. Green deposits can be removed with soda crystals dissolved in water or by using a specialised power cleaner for outdoor wood, e.g. from Xyladecor. After washing everything, be sure to rinse with water to avoid leftover foam residues. Let the wood dry thoroughly. Is your garden shed brand new? Don't skip this step entirely, but just degrease the wood and sand it.
Sanding is the second part of your preparation. Garden sheds with large flat panels are easy to sand with a sanding machine. Don't use too big of a grain size, unless you need to remove old layers of paint or if the wood is very weathered. In that case, you can sand off the top layer of the wood using sanding paper with a large grain until you see the natural, healthy wood colour again. A colour renovator might come in handy as well. Do not forget to dust off the sanding dust before continuing to the next step.
Preparation
Quickly and thoroughly removes dirt and other types of contamination on garden wood.
Quickly and thoroughly removes dirt and other types of contamination on garden wood.
Transparent stains
Opaque stains
Opaque stain resistant to extreme weather conditions.
Opaque stain resistant to extreme weather conditions.
Checklist
- Remove dirt and degrease
- Sand the wood
- Apply the right number of coats
- Behold, a beautiful and protected garden shed!
Useful tools
Tool for applying maintenance and protection products to wooden surfaces. The device combines a sprayer and a brush, for easy and even application of products on various wooden projects.
Tool for applying maintenance and protection products to wooden surfaces. The device combines a sprayer and a brush, for easy and even application of products on various wooden projects.
Need help?
If some of the steps aren't entirely clear to you, or if you are in a specific situation that isn't covered by our how-to guide, then our experts will be happy to help.
