Painting over wood with wood preserver on.

[Jet321]

Hi,

My ex partner made me a lovely picket fence. Unfortunately he thought it would be a good idea to cover it in wood preserver before I painted it.

This means that the pain peels never really adheres properly no matter how well I prep, prime, undercoat and paint.

I'm sick of having to re-paint every year and after spending 3 hours sanding back around a quarter of the fence again this morning, I'm desperate for a solution

Someone said that painting the fence with metal primer may help.

Any suggestions?

 

[JohnD]

what sort of wood preserver?

 

[Jet321]

Hi,

I can't remember the name but it was clear stuff in a tin.

 

[Third_Eye]

You could try Zamix Paints for it.......

 

[JohnD]

The wood preserver might have been Cuprinol Clear. It has a distinctive smell while it dries out. It is fairly expensive. It is spirit-based (not water) and is very effective against rot and insects. Once dry (can take a week), you can paint over it, and it does not prevent paint adhering.

The usual problem with external softwood joinery is that it swells and shrinks a lot, as it is alternately drenched with rain and baked with sun. So paints are generally doomed to failure as they are not elastic enough.

The Shed and Fence water-based stains a leave a waxy film on the wood to throw off water, and can accomodate reasonable movement. They are usually brown or dull colours and are not a paint.

Short of sanding off all the paint and using a more elastic treatment it will be difficult to get a lasting finish. there are some "Ranch Paints" intended for use on fence rails that may work.

Zamix make some special "problem-solving" paints that may help, it's not something I've used.

 

[Jet321]

I think it may well have been cuprinol clear. I'm glad to hear that's not the problem and I can stop cursing my ex.

I suppose most old window frames and doors are made from hardwood and this is why the paint lasts longer as it doesn't shrink and expand so much?

I really don't want to get rid of the white paint and stain it as all the screws and wood filler will show and it will look messy.

I will have a look at the Zamix and ranch paints you mentioned. Can anyone tell me where I can get them from?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Third_Eye]

Coverseal you want http://www.tbsmerchants.co.uk/cgi-bin/build/forms/search.html

 

[Jet321]

Thank you.