Preserving/painting a shed
Discussion
We've got a fairly solid shed in our garden that has been painted at some stage in the past and the paint looks awful now, peeling in places.
I wanted to strip it off and use wood preserver on it, but I have had a total nightmare with it. Belt sanders, wire brushes, you name it, I can't get it off properly and consistently. Although, annoyingly, even when I have done my best, I can still pick bits off with my fingernails, so whatever I do it will be peeling again in a couple of weeks probably.
Is my only option to do my best with it and then slap wood primer/wood gloss over the top of it?
At the moment I just want to stick a match under the f
king thing.
I wanted to strip it off and use wood preserver on it, but I have had a total nightmare with it. Belt sanders, wire brushes, you name it, I can't get it off properly and consistently. Although, annoyingly, even when I have done my best, I can still pick bits off with my fingernails, so whatever I do it will be peeling again in a couple of weeks probably.
Is my only option to do my best with it and then slap wood primer/wood gloss over the top of it?
At the moment I just want to stick a match under the f
king thing.'Tis a shame that it has been painted as, the wood that sheds are generally made of are not really suitable for 'real paint'. If it is oil paint, then a hot-air gun would probably be the best solution for removing the old paint. If it's flaking (as you say) then any over-painting will probably end up flaking too. I'd probably just paint it with a good exterior water based paint such as Dulux Weathershield, then touch up as and when required at later dates.
Thanks chaps.
I have been cursing the previous owner for painting it in the first place - it looks like it was cheap paint without any primer. It's faded very badly and as I say it's flaking badly in places but solid in others.
I bit the bullet this afternoon - I wire brushed/sanded the worst flaking bits and painted it with two coats of general purpose primer. Tomorrow I'll stick the first of two coats of some weathershield or something on it. Gloss isn't really a look I care for on a shed, but at least it will last a bit longer.
Thanks chaps.
I have been cursing the previous owner for painting it in the first place - it looks like it was cheap paint without any primer. It's faded very badly and as I say it's flaking badly in places but solid in others.
I bit the bullet this afternoon - I wire brushed/sanded the worst flaking bits and painted it with two coats of general purpose primer. Tomorrow I'll stick the first of two coats of some weathershield or something on it. Gloss isn't really a look I care for on a shed, but at least it will last a bit longer.
Thanks chaps.
NiceCupOfTea said:
I bit the bullet this afternoon - I wire brushed/sanded the worst flaking bits and painted it with two coats of general purpose primer. Tomorrow I'll stick the first of two coats of some weathershield or something on it. Gloss isn't really a look I care for on a shed, but at least it will last a bit longer.
You've stayed with the 'high-maintenance-will-look-st-in-two-years' approach then?Simpo Two said:
NiceCupOfTea said:
I bit the bullet this afternoon - I wire brushed/sanded the worst flaking bits and painted it with two coats of general purpose primer. Tomorrow I'll stick the first of two coats of some weathershield or something on it. Gloss isn't really a look I care for on a shed, but at least it will last a bit longer.
You've stayed with the 'high-maintenance-will-look-st-in-two-years' approach then?t and it wouldn't be possible to sand all the paint of the shed without sandblasting it or something.Believe me, I have considered all the options. I didn't want to paint it but it was the only realistic way to stop it falling apart.
Really, if you've got any smart ideas I'm all ears.
Seriously, Simpo, I'd love to hear your suggestions.
Still haven't finished the damn thing. The only exterior primer I could find in any DIY stores was white, so 2 coats of weathershield hasn't covered it properly and it still looks crap. In addition to this you don't seem to be able to buy the 2.5L tins of it so I had to buy 3 750ml tins which has worked out really expensive, and I just opened the third can and it's the wrong bloody colour (despite the label)
If I could do it all over again I would not bother with the primer and just stick 2 coats of green exterior gloss on it. *sigh*
Still haven't finished the damn thing. The only exterior primer I could find in any DIY stores was white, so 2 coats of weathershield hasn't covered it properly and it still looks crap. In addition to this you don't seem to be able to buy the 2.5L tins of it so I had to buy 3 750ml tins which has worked out really expensive, and I just opened the third can and it's the wrong bloody colour (despite the label)
If I could do it all over again I would not bother with the primer and just stick 2 coats of green exterior gloss on it. *sigh*
I did think that - have you read the instructions on a bottle of Nitromors? 
Work in 50 cm2 areas, dab (not brush) it on, wait until it blisters, put some more on, scrape paint off, use wire brush for other bits, then clean remains of stripper off with white spirit, then you have to do something to prepare the surface for painting IIRC - rinse and repeat for entire shed. And it's expensive stuff too.
Work in 50 cm2 areas, dab (not brush) it on, wait until it blisters, put some more on, scrape paint off, use wire brush for other bits, then clean remains of stripper off with white spirit, then you have to do something to prepare the surface for painting IIRC - rinse and repeat for entire shed. And it's expensive stuff too.
Your only options really are either to paint it brown to make it look a bit like a stained shed, or to re-clad the sides of the shed which are visible from the house or the garden. Then this can be stained to your desired colour to a decent finish.
All dependent on whether you want to go to the expense of new T&G cladding.
All dependent on whether you want to go to the expense of new T&G cladding.
NiceCupOfTea said:
Slothario said:
Or you could simply stick a match under the fking thing.
Oh believe me that has become a serious option on more than one occasion! :grin: Rest assured if I ever meet the fellow that painted my shed I will leave him in no doubt as to my feelings regarding shed painting king thing.
2.Take a deep breath.....
3.Pick up an axe and run at the cause of your recent mental pain, shouting.
4.Violently chop it into teeny tiny little pieces, grunting and sweating profusely.
5.Light a match under the debris.
6.Light a cigar.
7.Exhale.
NiceCupOfTea said:
It does seem a shame to chop up a perfectly good very solid shed (particularly as I reroofed it a couple of weeks ago! )You must do it.
Chop up the shed.
Look at what its done to you.
You're posting your anxieties due to this shed on the internet.
KILL IT.
Camouflage netting, that's what you need NCOT. Just don't make too good a job of it or you'll never find it again.
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