One of the necessary maintenance measures for the garden house is to repaint it regularly. Rain, snow and sunlight would take a toll on unprotected wood, causing it to become rotten. In addition, the untreated surface offers an ideal breeding ground for mold and fungus.
How do you repaint a garden shed?
To repaint a garden shed, you should first sand the surface or apply adhesive primer, depending on the condition of the wood. Then clean the surface, apply a primer and coat at least twice with varnish or glaze for optimal weather protection and a beautiful look.
The preparation
There are two options here:
- The thorough sanding of the wooden surface.
- Applying primer, which you then simply paint over.
When is the preparatory sanding recommended?
You should do this quite time-consuming work when the surface is already weathered. This prepares the material optimally for subsequent treatment with a varnish. Even if you want to use a less pigmented stain, you should sand the wood so that the natural wood grain becomes visible again.
When is it enough to apply primer?
Since this work is relatively quick to do, many people prefer simple painting. However, weathered areas are only covered by the adhesive base. Old paint residue that could chip remains on the wood. Therefore, this method is only recommended if the house is still in very good condition.
How is sanding done?
So that the subsequent coat can be applied easily and adheres well, there are a few basic things to consider:
- Sand carefully so that the wood does not crack or break. It is better to work in critical areas by hand.
- Several sanding steps are usually necessary to thoroughly remove all old layers of paint.
- An 80 grit is suitable for pre-sanding, for fine sanding a 120, or even better, 180 grit.
The new coat of paint
No matter whether you repaint the sanded house or paint over the primer, the procedure remains largely the same:
- Always paint on a dry but cloudy day.
- Sweep or vacuum all surfaces well.
- Then it may be sanded and vacuumed again.
- Take off areas that should not be painted with painter's tape.
- Apply the adhesive primer (€23.00 on Amazon) or a primer.
- Paint or glaze at least twice.
Tip
How long the new coat of paint lasts does not just depend on the weather conditions. Wood stains only last about two years; with varnishes, this renovation work is due about every four years.
