Barn Paint and Shed Paint – Barn painting DIY Guide
Durable barn thanks to durable barn paint
A wooden barn or shed belongs to a cosy garden like the stars and stripes to the United States. It is practical in the first place, but also can be beautified to be a nice garden feature. To keep a garden shed in pristine state, barn paint helps you to make it beautiful and robust against all typical weather conditions and icy winters we have in the USA.
In this brief guide on what barn paint to buy, and how to paint a barn, you learn about what makes a good barn paint that gives you a nice barn for many years.
Reasons for choosing the best barn paint
Apart from creating a great look for the garden shed, barn paints are designed to make that look durable. So they are designed to be UV-resistant to keep the colour, wheater-resistant, abrasion-resistant and temperature-resistant.
Barn paint and garden paint:
- can easily give a new look to a shed or barn,
- fixes minor damage and signs of aging,
- is available in many different finishes,
- can be bought in many colours, or tinted into a custom shade.
Barn varnish and outdoor wod varnish:
- gives a natural look, soaking into the wood,
- colours wood slightly, leaving grain visible.
Buying tip: The more opaque a barn paint, the better its protection of the wood against UV- and weather influences, and wear and tear.
The best wood paint products for barn and garden shed
Barn and fence paint products are offered by many wood paint manufacturers. Here below you can find a selection of those products we consider exterior paint for wood that is perfect for sheds.
Ready Seal Stain and Sealer for Wood
- Dark Walnut
- 5 Gallon
Glidden Redwood Stain Exterior
- Semi‑Transparent Red
- 1 Gallon
KILZ Exterior Siding Fence and Barn Paint
- Red
- 1 Gallon
Majic Paints Barn & Fence Paint
- Classic Red Flat
- 5 Gallon
BEHR Exterior Barn and Fence Paint
- Red
- 1 Gallon
How to paint a barn – Valuable tips on how to paint a barn
The following guide contains the most valuable upfront tips, followed by necessary tools and instructions about preparation and cleaning, and finally painting the shed.
Whether you choose for an outdoor wood paint, a stain or a varnish, keep in mind the following when painting a shed or fence:
- Large or small area to paint – If you have a large area to cover, you might consider spraying as an application method to effectively coat your garden shed. A smaller shed, on the other hand, is best painted the traditional way with brush and roller.
- No rain, no direct sun – Make sure no rain has been forecast for the time the paint is painted on the shed, still wet. Check also that the wet paint is not hit by direct sunlight.
- No dripping – You are painting vertical exterior surfaces hence apply paint in multiple thin layers instead of one thick one to avoid ugly dripping.
- Flat or Satin – You can choose from many different finishes, but a flat finish is always offers slightly less weather protection tan satin, semi-gloss, and glossy.
Step-by-step guide: barn painting
For barn painting you need to have the right tools, do proper preparation, and finally know how to paint your shed or barn. Let’s have a look:
Tools and supplies you need to paint your garden shed
- Barn/Shed paint or shed/barn varnish
- Ladder
- Paint brush, 10 cm and 15 cm broad
- Smaller paint brush (ca. 5 cm broad)
- Painting roller with high pile
- Extension poll for the roller to reach high
- Cleaning rags
- Masking tape
- Sheeting or cardbord, carpet
- Cleaning brush
Cleaning and preparation
- Remove all loose dirt and dust with a dry hand broom.
- Clean all the surfaces of the barn you want painted thouroughly with water and detergent if needed.
- Let dry.
- Tape off everything that must be protected from paint. Use masking tape and paper/cardboard /sheeting.
- Protect the ground surrounding the barn with cardboard or carpet.
Colouring barn in your favourite colour
- After you have chosen your personal best barn paint colour that accents your garden, you can grab the small brush.
- Start painting edges, take your time and paint accurately, filling all panell edges, corners and trim edges.
- If you opt for a two-tone shed or barn, meaning the trims get a different colour than the walls, start with the trims. Possible dripping paint can still be erased then.
- After the paint has dried, paint remaining surfacces with a roller or the broad brush.
- Remember to put on several thinner layers rather than one thick coat, if you are afraid of the paint dripping. In the end you want to achieve a high film thickness.
- If you want to fill minor flaws in the wood, use a high pile roller to smoothen out irregularities.
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