How to paint a concrete fence: make a choice

Gusevsky Andrey Anatolyevich

Reinforced Concrete Fence Painting

Paint for concrete fence can improve the quality of concrete, increase its resistance. The entire life of the structure is affected by negative atmospheric factors: sun, precipitation from snow and rain, temperature changes, sedimentation of dirt and dust, bird droppings.

The surface of the fence fades with time, cracks appear on it. Painting a concrete fence will slow down such negative processes, and the design will become more attractive.

Why paint a concrete fence

A natural and inevitable process is the aging of concrete. There are several reasons that cause the destruction of concrete fences.

Negative factors for such designs are:

• Exposure to moisture. Concrete is able to absorb water like a sponge.
• At a negative temperature, water begins to freeze and expand by about 10%, which will destroy the structure of the material. In the off-season, freezing and then thawing cycles can be repeated every day.
• With high humidity and fairly warm weather, microorganisms develop quite quickly on the surface of the fence.
• The appearance of fungus and mold on concrete leads to stains that can range from black to whitish-transparent. They spoil the appearance of the structure.
• Moss and lichens are able to absorb moisture, under them the base is always wet and the material will crumble under such conditions, as can be seen in the photo, and become unusable.

Destruction of concrete fence

• In large cities, concrete fences are exposed to aggressive agents such as metal oxides, carbon compounds, sulfuric acid, and various salts. Settling on the surface, toxic waste accelerates destruction.

The easiest way to protect the structure is to paint the concrete fence.

In addition, the reasons for painting the fence can be:

• Technologically applied coatings on the eurofence - This is the final stage, or the final touch in the design of the site.
• The fence without painting is gray., he is faceless and melancholy, not causing positive emotions. Surrounding himself with such structures, a person turns into gray everyday life and his life. And everyone wants a pleasant emotional and non-irritating background to be created around him.
• Creation of personality. A correctly selected color for painting a decorative fence will emphasize other elements of the site: roofing, walls, lawn or complete the whole picture so that the house along with the fence can perfectly fit into the surrounding landscape.

How to prepare a fence for painting

Before you paint a concrete fence under a stone, or give a different type of structure so that it fits well into the landscape of the entire site, it is necessary to carry out preliminary preparation of the structure.

For this:

• If plants are planted near the fence, benches, sculptures are placed, they must be properly protected from paint.
• For sufficient adhesion of the paintwork and concrete, its surface should be roughened.
• It is necessary to clean the surface of any dirt.

Tip: Only a clean and not quite smooth fence surface will provide high-quality adhesion of the coating to the concrete surface.

Do-it-yourself procedure for cleaning a concrete fence:

• In addition to dry, wet cleaning is also required.. For this:

1. concrete structure is wetted with water;
2. left for 15 minutes;
3. the surface is cleaned with a hard bristle brush.Better cleaning can be done using a cleaning agent or a regular soap solution;
4. dirt is washed off the hose with a strong pressure of water;
5. places where mold or fungus was found are treated with an antifungal compound;
6. External metal elements that are present on the surface are coated with an anti-corrosion fluid.

• All cracks in the concrete fence are cemented. For this, a solution is prepared: a part of cement, three of the same parts of sand and water is added as necessary, so that the mixture gets the desired consistency.
• After cleaning the concrete surface, it can be primed.. It's necessary:

1. To increase the strength of the material due to its polymerization.
2. Smoothing irregularities.
3. Dust removal.
4. Improving the strength of the material.

Primer Concrete Fence

Tip: To improve the result of work, the primer should be purchased on the same basis as the paint and from the same manufacturer.

Impregnation can be made:

• On the water. Such solutions are used at high humidity, they can be impregnated with fresh concrete. Water based formulations are odorless.
• On solvent. Organic based primers penetrate deep into low-quality concrete. They can be used at low temperatures, below minus 20 ° C. But if polyurethane is included in the impregnation, the temperature should not be lower than 5 ° C.

Application to the surface of the primer (see Concrete contact - primer for surface preparation) can be carried out with a roller and brush.

Tip: The fence must be impregnated with the same composition on both sides, so that the surface characteristics are the same with respect to atmospheric influences.

The primer dries completely in a day.

How to choose a paint for concrete fence

Paints are:

• Cold: blue, green colors.
• Warm: red, orange, yellow and purple.

The fence after painting should be in harmony with the adjacent buildings. The fence of the site, painted in the same tone with the roof of the building, looks originally. What paint to paint a concrete fence, everyone chooses for himself, the main thing is that he fits into the general landscape of the site.

The choice of color for the fence

When painting the structure, the lower part should be of the same tonality as the upper or darker. If the concrete surface looks aesthetically pleasing, without obvious irregularities, it can be painted with a colorless paint.

Tip: It must be borne in mind that matte paint can hide surface defects, and glossy paint can underline.

Before painting a concrete fence, you must purchase a paint coat from one manufacturer on the entire surface. Smooth concrete surfaces can be covered with textured paint, which will allow you to change the relief of the fence, make it unique. Such textured paints protect the material best from temperature extremes and humidity.

For painting a concrete fence, you can use the following types of paints:

• Silicate. It sets well, has a high temperature resistance, to the action of ultraviolet rays, dries quickly.
• Oily. Resistant to high humidity and ultraviolet radiation. Disadvantages of the composition: it dries for a long time and does not let vapor through too well.
• Acrylic It best resists mechanical stress. It has environmental cleanliness, transmits fumes, high resistance to moisture, perfectly grasps with concrete. But, the big price of paint.
• Latex (see Latex paint: how to work with it) It is made on the basis of latex dispersion. The cost is not high, but the service life of the coating is less than the acrylic composition.
• Water emulsion. It has a low price, is economical when painting, has a variety of colors. Low resistance to moisture, the effects of temperature extremes, mechanical damage and chemicals.
• Rubber.Its main property is increased elasticity, which allows the paint layer to contract and unclench under the influence of different air temperatures. Good elasticity of the material prevents the appearance of cracks after coating the surface.

Some tips for painting the fence

After drying the primer and good weather, you can start painting the fence:

• The first paint coat is applied with a roller. In this way, the paint will last longer than after using the spray gun.
• Hard-to-reach spots are tinted with a brush.
• A break of 24 hours is taken so that the painted surface dries well.
• A spray gun is being prepared for applying the next coat of paint. When using it, in comparison with the roller, the coating is more uniform.
• Two layers of paint are usually enough to ensure that the painted fence has good protective properties and aesthetic appearance for a long time. But, if necessary, two more layers can be applied.

Tip: A new concrete fence should not be painted. You need to wait at least a year until the structure shrinks.

How to paint a stone fence

To stain the fence, you will need to prepare the following tools:

• Special tray for painting.
• Fur roller.
• Brush.
• Spray gun.
• Protective equipment: suit, glasses and gloves.
• The right paint.
• Liquid for its dilution.

Painting a concrete fence under a stone is carried out in the presence of such a fence with a relief coating.

Stone Concrete Fence

Instructions for painting a stone fence:

• Marking is applied. This is the most crucial moment.
• Using a ruler and a pencil, the concrete base is divided into figures of the required sizes - future stones, taking into account the size of the masking tape.
• By marking, masking tape is glued.
• Not glued surface is painted. The color palette is selected in accordance with the preferences of the owner.
• After the paint dries, the masking tape is carefully removed. After it, the remaining tracks are the boundaries between the stones.

Painting a concrete fence is a fairly simple process. And for complete information on the execution of work, you can watch the video in this article.