One of the many things on our oh-we-need-to-do-that list when we moved into our house was to stain the brand new fence. It looked great, but we knew from past experience that it wouldn’t look nice for long. Between the weather, the irrigation system and all of the new home construction going on around us, the cedar pickets were going to go from clean to dirty very quickly.
Fast forward five and a half years. That fence was still standing there bare. And you know what? We were very right about it getting dirty.
The fence wasn’t falling down or anything, but it just didn’t look pretty. Some of my neighbors have stained theirs over the years, and I decided that this was the summer to join the fence staining team. Not only would the fence look better, but with the right kind of stain, we could protect the wood from the weather and the sun so that the fence would last longer.
One Saturday afternoon, Tom and I got to work pressure washing the fence so that it would be clean and better accept the stain. Earlier in the month, 3MDIY.com had sent me some 3M TEKK Protection products, so I donned my safety glasses and was all smiles.
had sent me some 3M TEKK Protection
products, so I donned my 
We borrowed a pressure washer from a neighbor, and Tom did the washing. I had offered to do it (this was MY project after all), but he wanted to do it. I think he knew he’d be cooler working with water. So, I had the job of removing the wire fencing we had to put around the bottom of our fence when our rescue dog first came to live with us (he was a digger).
In hindsight, we shouldn’t have started this project on a 100-degree, sunny day. By the time the fence the wire fencing was all removed, I looked like this (I’m red from heat – not sunburned). Removing all of the staples we had put into the cedar fence to hold the wire fencing definitely required some elbow grease. I was glad that I had been working out in the weeks leading up to it!
But, the joke was on Tom and his “staying cool” in the heat. Although his job of spraying the fence was easier, he looked like this when he was finished.
Ha! And EWWWW! That is the nasty stuff that was on our fence. I considered burning his clothes instead of putting them into my washing machine.
We just washed the fence with water and then let it dry for a few days. Then it rained for like four days straight, which never happens here. Nevertheless, it was already looking 100 times better than it did before it was washed.
The next weekend, it was dry enough to stain. This time, Tom stayed inside with the kids while I sprayed the fence with my big paint sprayer. I sprayed two coats of stain, each taking me about an hour to complete the entire fence. It was honestly about 4 times faster to stain than it was to wash!
I made sure to wear my 3M TEKK Protection while I was spraying the stain so that I wouldn’t breathe in the small stain particles or get them in my eyes. This time, I used my Holmes Safety Glasses and paired it with Sanding and Fiberglass Respirator with Cool Flow Technology. These products are definitely not fashion statements, but they were absolutely necessary for this project and did their job well.
I am so pleased with the new look of our fence! The stain has made a world of difference in the way our backyard feels. Instead of feeling old and dirty, it feels new and happy. It is the perfect backdrop for family gatherings, holiday BBQs and play dates.
And of course, it’s perfect for tea parties.
Have you stained your backyard fence? What kind of safety protection did you wear?
This post is a collaboration with 3M DIY. To keep up-to-date on projects, products and sampling visit 3MDIY.com.
I was given the 3M TEKK Protection products and received compensation for this post. The opinions expressed are entirely mine. To keep up-to-date on projects, products and sampling visit 3MDIY.com.
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We had our fence installed a year ago so I need to get on with staining it. It has already started to weather. Do you have any tips when using a sprayer? I was told to brush it on so stain waste will be minimum but I have a large fence and ain’t nobody got time for that. 🙂
Hi Dametha!
It’s definitely true that a sprayer wastes more paint/stain that a brush. But like you said, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” I have 32 panels that are 6×8 and it took 1 hour per coat. I have a neighbor who brushed hers on and it took days. My neighbor who used a pump sprayer still isn’t finished…
My tips are to practice on a piece of cardboard so that you get your spray exactly how you want it – not too thin and not too thick. Then, just go up and down in a slightly overlapping pattern. I did get about a foot of spray on the grass on the bottom of the fence, so I definitely went too far down.
All that being said, the stain calculator computer thingy at Home Depot said it would take us 8 gallons. It took me 9. So, it wasn’t really that much more than it would have been with a brush. And the cost of that extra can? TOTALLY worth my time.
Good luck!
Thanks! I will definitely be using a sprayer. Now it needs to stop raining!
Wow! Even just washing it made it look so much better. I need to get out and do this too though. My fence is looking sad and I think It’ll last longer if I give it some protection.
Yeah, the stain will definitely help it last longer!
We are about to tackle this project, too. Yours gives me inspiration to get it done! Any tips on getting the fence ready for stain? Did you use any bleach/cleaners on the fence while pressure washing?
Hi Jacqueline,
We just used plain water and it worked great. I think if the fence had been previously stained, you might wanted to think about a cleaner. Ours was raw wood so water work just fine. We just pressure washed it and then let it dry for 48 hours (after it stopped raining).
Good luck!
I so need to do this, but being from Texas also…ITs SO HOT! and I’m old. Going to be a sissy and wait till November. We made a fence to line our driveway with pallets, turned out great but def needs something. Paint or stain and totally plan on spraying too.
Yep, November will probably be better! 😉
I have a pressure washer addiction (and magic erasers) but I hate to stain fences LOL
Did using the sprayer cause any of the stain to get on your neighbors fences? I have been worried about it dripping or spraying the neighbors. thanks for posting this, we are so dreading this job.
Hey Cathy,
We didn’t have that problem at all. We even asked our neighbors to check and see if they got overspray. Now, my neighbor who used a pump sprayer…we did get her stain on our fence.
Good luck!
I love your DIY on staining the fence, we need to do ours badly.. After buildinging our fence I’m itching to stain everything to a matching shade.
What did you do about the fence on the other side near your neighbors? Did you stain that as well to protect it, or just your side? If staining is suppose to help it not whether does it defeat the purpose if the other side is bare?
Just curious! Great job!
Pretty! Can you tell me the color name of the stain? Thanks