Outdoor paint for wooden surface in strong/vibrant colours?

How tall, how long and wide, and how visible from street is the fence?

Do you have brightly coloured blooms in your garden that you can echo? Or would too many strong pure tones compete with/or distract from the garden? My favorite color for a wooden fence is Forest Green, since it complements the surrounding pines and hemlocks.

When I took a furniture refinishing course, the guru said to paint wood w. flat paint and then cover with polyurethane.

And word has it that the old-fashioned milk paint is indistructable. Might be expensive, however.

Milk Paint

Thanks Gail :)

It’s about (getting the converter out) 5ft, each section is 20 planks of about 4inches wide, with a ‘cross bar’ (this is the backside of the fence, our neighbors put it up). And it’s not visible at all from the street, it’s in the back.

My idea is to use 6 colours, like lime green, pure green, aqua blue, sunny yellow, etc. and ideally gold as well. For each section I’d like to paint 4 planks each colour (5 colours) and the 2 planks going across in the 6th colour.

I don’t have a lot of flowers in my garden (yet at least), if they’re to come later, they’ll most likely be of a purple/pink palette.

Do you want the fence to be the showpiece/focus or the garden?

Speaking of gardening, where do you live (did you ever tell me that?) and and how big a garden? Is the garden a little afterthought? Do you want the fence to be art? And I gather that the fence itself is not surrounding the garden…

Gorgeous and favorite flowers in the pink/purple palette. Double peonies (for cool winters,) purple irises, rugosa roses, cone flowers, lavender and nepeta (catmint), clematis (will climb your fence), mildew-proof tall phlox…check back in when you want more ideas. Soil prep is the most important thing.

So, to paint or to dig? That is the question..What grows in the Faroes? Do you have any memories of colours or scents that might make you nostalgic?

I’m in south west part of Ireland.
Yes, the fence is to be a bit ‘showy’. I want to keep the garden very simple (because the upkeep would be beyond me). The fence runs half-way down on one side (total size about 70×10m, but the lower half is untouched and runs down the hill) and in that area, I just want to keep the grass and hedges around it in good condition, so mostly green – I may choose to get some pots or hanging baskets later.

The lower half – once I get to that, I’d like to fill with different types of heather – and yes, because it reminds me of home, but there’s also plenty of it here :)

Paint Expert here.
You will only need a quart of each color to get started. Or whatever the equivalent is
in Eire. You can always go back and get another quart of each. Six big gallonish containers will cost a lot – maybe don’t make that big commitment till you see how it goes.

Make sure the weather has been very dry for some days – if that is an option. If not,
the milk paint will be great, because as a water-based paint it will dry quickly and will bond to any residual dampness in the boards, instead of being resisted by it.
(Resistance between oily and watery = peeling.)
For a very weatherproof surface, I strongly recommend Porch and Floor Enamel – again, if there is such a thing in Ireland. This
is very very strong wear-resistant paint that’s designed to be walked on.
I use it for all glossy trim work because it simply never chips or scuffs and can be scrubbed. You can have them mix it for you in your gorgeous colors. You’re not limited to color chips.
American paint companies, and maybe European paint companies, make both oil-based and latex-based floor and porch paint. Latex-base might be a good bet for you, because although not as impermeable as oil-based, it’s a whiz to use (soap & water cleanup), it’s pretty non-toxic (no hideous petroleum-based solvent), and you could slap it on the boards even if they’re not bone dry. But the drier the better.

A last note: some people really like a little mossy look to their wooden outdoor
construction. Milk paint is famous for hosting little moss colonies because the milk rots slightly while settling and provides nice protein for their dining pleasure. With any paint, however, you can put a little bit of moss and some regular milk in a blender, then splash or paint the mix onto the wood in misty weather.
It will STINK for a bit (that’s the organisms working) but soon it will look fab.

I love painting so much. I wish I were in Ireland to do the Tom Sawyer’s Neighbor
Boy thing for you.

Wow! Thanks Susanc!

Considering the humidity and weediness around here, I don’t think I need to encourage moss, but great tip :)

The waiting for a few dry days may be a challenge, but I’m sure I’ll find a way – thanks again!

Actually I got some of the mossiness thing wrong – if you use an oil-based paint, the moss won’t like it.
I think this garden sounds wonderful. Gail’s pink-to-purple suggestions included. Yum.