Painting the garden house: which color, which brush and the most important questions

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Painting the garden house: tips and answers to the most important questions

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Wooden garden houses are practical structures. They can take on many functions in the garden, such as a shelter for equipment, a summer house or even a wellness oasis for taking a sauna. The big advantage of a garden house is its cheap and simple construction. If you want to try it yourself, you can find some instructions for building it yourself here.

The easier alternative is of course to buy a garden shed kit: you can buy a ready-made one Garden house Order online and have it installed. The preferred starting material is almost always wood. In addition to the many advantages that wood brings, there is also a small disadvantage with this beautiful natural material: wood needs care.

Garden house kits are usually made of untreated wood. This means that after construction, a high-quality paint is required to protect the gazebo from the weather and pests. You should therefore paint your garden house immediately after assembly and repeat this process after a few years.

A wooden garden house needs regular care. With a glaze, the gazebo not only shines in new splendor, but also lasts longer.

A wooden garden house needs regular care. With a glaze, the gazebo not only shines in new splendor, but also lasts longer.

A sensible coat of paint significantly increases the lifespan of the garden shed. In addition to wind and weather, UV rays, mold and vermin are also natural enemies of wooden structures. You can take appropriate countermeasures with special paint, glaze or primer.

Paint or glaze? It depends!

When painting, you basically have two options: you can preserve the natural look of the wood or use exotic colors to create a beautiful designer house in the garden. If you want a wood look, a glaze is recommended. Such a coat of paint is generally more durable and requires less maintenance than paints with opaque colors. You can use colors to create an appealing atmosphere, for example with a Scandinavian flair. Garden houses in the color Swedish red are particularly popular at the moment.

Whatever you decide, you will have to paint your garden house after assembly. Untreated wood is easy to treat. Therefore, below we will first look at how to repaint a house that has already been painted. You can of course skip the steps for removing and sanding the old paint if the wood is untreated.

Tips about painting

Wooden houses are exposed to a variety of weather conditions outdoors. This places high demands on painted surfaces. In general, this is recommended Use of open-pored paints and glazes, environmentally friendly acrylic systems with eco-labels ensure a clear conscience when painting the garden house. You can recognize low-pollutant paints and primers, for example label Blue Angel.

Particularly important for a durable and weatherproof coating, is a thorough preparation and the work in several steps: No coat of paint covers really well the first time, but unfortunately it still doesn’t matter what the manufacturer says. Two or three coat applications are not the exception, but rather the rule, especially with bright colors that are intended to cover a dark background.

Painting old wood

Far more often than a garden house needs to be completely repainted the renovation painting of an older garden house on the program.

Even if it doesn’t always look as bad as in the picture below: Paint is a product that is exposed to environmental influences and a natural aging process when used outdoors.

In addition, the paints of earlier days were not as durable as modern paints produced based on the latest research findings.

When it comes to varnishes and paints from earlier days, it should also be noted that The use of lead additives in paints and varnishes continued until the 1970s, especially for outdoor use, was not prohibited. When sanding such paints, harmful dust is created that must not be inhaled. A breathing mask is therefore mandatory when sanding off old layers of paint!

  • View dust masks on Amazon »

Sand wood

Sand off old paint

Sand first before applying a new coat of paint.

Anyone can grind? Think! The right sanding is at least as important as the paint and must always be planned with the desired finish in mind and, more importantly, the age and type of wood. If you treat soft, heavily aged wood with a belt sander with 30 grit, you don’t have to be surprised by cracks and splintering wood.

Sanding is a task of patience: with sanding pads no less than 80 grit should be used the color should be approached more carefully. This means that only the paint is removed, not the wood. For sensitive areas that should not be processed with a belt sander, delta sanders or the good old sanding block are recommended. Steel wool is also well suited for processing; it adapts smoothly to curved and delicate surfaces.

In the Composite pieces of tongue and groove boards Only manual work helps: steel wool should be used here. Anyone who experiments with multifunctional tools and different attachments risks damaging the wood and causing deep scratches. When sanding large areas, it is important to ensure that the sanding machine is guided evenly and does not stay in one place for too long.

Tip: At least two sanding steps are required: A rough pre-sanding with sandpaper with a grit of 80 or more and a careful fine sanding with sandpaper with a grit of 100 or better, 180 is better, represents the optimal preparation of the wood for a successful coat.

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What to paint with: brush or roller?

Instead of “painting” you can also say “brushing”, but this is usually meant in a slightly derogatory way. For large areas, this judgment is certainly justified: If you don’t have a very lucky or professional hand, flat brush coats quickly appear streaky and are cannot be compared with rolled, even coats.

The method of choice when painting the garden house is therefore a foam roller from the paint shop. With it, the color is not only applied very evenly, but also faster than with a brush. Proper handling of the roll is important. It should always be completely covered with paint, but at the same time it should not drip. You can achieve good results with a special paint tray that wipes off excess paint.

For details, joints and corners A brush is still recommended. However, this should not have been used seven times and caused hair loss.

Tip: A new, good branded brush doesn’t shed and doesn’t cost much more compared to the hassle of the “moulting” cheap products.

  • View brushes and rollers on Amazon »

Instructions summarized: paint the garden house correctly

House painter or house painter is not an apprenticeship for nothing. You can’t teach all the tricks and tricks here, but there are some basic things that are always important when painting and varnishing.

  • Paint several times: At least one primer and one main coat, or three times for particularly strong colors.
  • Don’t skimp on the color: Cheap paint and varnish offers should be avoided. If you buy cheap here, you buy twice. Reduced amounts of pigment and dubious additives ensure a good price, but by no means a good paint job.
  • Cleanliness: The surface to be painted must be dust-free and dry – dust and cobwebs look very unsightly under the dried paint.
  • Only paint in dry weather and in the shade: Direct sunlight causes the paint to dry unevenly.
  • Good masking saves trouble: Even though it’s annoying, you have to carefully cover all the areas that you want to remain without paint.
  • Take your time: Slow and careful stroking movements ensure a good result and an even application of paint.

If you follow these tips, your garden house should actually be Paint easily and professionally can.

Image credits: Adobe Stock/schulzfoto, Adobe Stock/YuricBel, Adobe Stock/Sanja (sorted chronologically or according to the order of the images used in the buying guide)