DIY,  DIY | Home Projects

How to Stain a Cedar Fence the Fast & Easy Way

April 20, 2020 / 337 Comments

After we completed our DIY horizontal privacy fence and after selecting the perfect neutral stain color we finally began staining our fence. We have stained and painted many things over the years but this was our first attempt at staining a fence. Through plenty of research and planning we came up with the easiest way to stain our new fence that would be super fast and consistent. Here is how we stained our DIY horizontal privacy fence the fast and easy way.

Step 1 – Clean the Fence

If your staining an old fence or even a fence that has had a chance to weather at all, you will need to clean it properly before staining. Follow the instructions on a quality cleaner like this one and ensure your fence is cleaned and completely dry before staining it.

Step 2 – Spray the Fence

Since our fence was newly installed we skipped straight to this step. We used our Wagner paint sprayer, which comes ready to use. Simply fill the container, plug it in, and it is ready to go. This sprayer comes with a wide angle nozzle that is specifically designed for spray painting fences. Be sure you cover any plants or other items as overspray will occur.

Using horizontal motion we sprayed light even coats back and forth over each section. We originally had the sprayer set to low and it wasnt putting out enough paint to get in the groves of the wood well, so be sure you try a few different pressures to get the perfect pressure. We always go with the direction of the grain as we spray.

We did 2-3 coats per section just to be sure it was covered completely. We really did not want to see the cedar tone under the stain at all.

Step 3 – Back Roll the Fence

After each layer of spray we rolled the fence with a small roller to really work the stain in and be sure it wasn’t just sitting on top of the wood. This also helps with drips. Stain dries super fast when sprayed so this helps get it into the wood before it dries.

Next you will roll any areas you couldn’t reach with the sprayer or that need touch up. Alternatively, you could use a brush for any part in this step but we are partial to rollers since they are fast and cover more area.

The color we used for this fence is Behr semi-transparent in Tugboat, which we selected after sampling these 6 Behr stain colors for our DIY Horizontal Privacy Fence that we recently built.

Before and After Photos

I am so glad we took the time to sample several colors and pick the color that was just right for our fence. Staining it was a breeze and we love how the color turned out! This color looks beautiful from inside our home and I love that it is neutral enough to work with the existing fence color. Eventually we plan to stain the whole fence in this color!

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