Your Questions Answered!

Is it okay to use metal paint on exterior wood?

The short answer is yes! An Enamel based metal paint is the best option for external woodwork, just ensure that you prepare the wood surface properly, using a primer. The benefits of using metal paint are the UV degradation properties and how it expands and contracts in temperature dips from seasons (Winter & Summer).

Metal paint is ideal for outdoor applications as it provides a strong, durable, and long-lasting finish. It works well on a variety of surfaces, including wood, metal, cement, and more. Metal paint comes in a variety of shades, including black, silver, gold, and copper. Depending on the type of metal you are painting, the steps may vary slightly. You can also experiment with mixing paints to create different shades.

Can I use wall paint on my garden furniture?

It is not a clever idea to use your internal paint on your wooden garden furniture, for several reasons such as the paint not being able to withstand different external temperatures and the sun rays. You will end up seeing flakes and cracks leading to an unfortunate waste of your time.

How can I preserve my outdoor wooden furniture?

A lot of wood varieties can keep going for a long time if you keep them away from sun and rain. If you cannot do this, you must protect against them. For example, you can periodically clean and oil teak wood to maintain its appearance. These woods are exceedingly durable, even in severe weather.

If your furniture is ageing, you will need to make sure it is well kept and treated properly. Here are 2 products which go hand in hand:

1. https://www.palatinepaints.co.uk/product/carboxide-all-purpose-primer-undercoat/
2. https://www.palatinepaints.co.uk/product/palatine-professional-garden-furniture-paint/

You’ll learn the best ways to use the 2 products above further on in this guide but the main points to remember is ensuring the wood is treated and sealed, if your wood is resting on concrete then place a small sheet of tar paper between.

Is painting wooden garden furniture worth it?

Definitely in every regard! There are plenty of benefits to painting your garden furniture, from increasing its longevity to adding a fresh new look to your space. When properly maintained, painted wooden furniture can last for up to 15 years, which is about five years longer than untreated wood.

In addition to increasing the lifespan of your furniture, painting it can also add value to your garden set if you are thinking about selling it in the future. The cost of paint and enjoying the results positively outweighs the process of buying new furniture and the high costs that come with it.

Can I paint over my wooden garden furniture?

With our very own garden furniture undercoat you can do this yes! It allows you to change an existing topcoat in a cost-effective and on time.

Continue reading…

The Step-by-step guide to painting your outdoor garden furniture like a pro!

Things you will need:

1. Soap and Scrubbing Brush
2. Gloves
3. Dust Sheet
4. Wood filler (if you need to fill holes or repair dents)
5. Sandpaper or an 0000 ‘Ultra Fine Grade’ steel wool.
6. ProDec Tack cloth
7. Paintbrushes
8. Palatine Garden furniture undercoat paint (great if you did not want to remove the existing paint to paint over)
9. Palatine All Purpose Primer
10. Palatine Garden furniture professional paint

Step 1 – Cleaning & Preparation

Just like every other painting job, you must ensure the area that you will be painting is clean from debris, dust, or scuffs. With most aged wooden furniture, you will see wear and tear marks or loose bits of wood. Make sure any wood chippings are removed so that it will not impact the quality of the finish.

Cleaning

• Hoover any dirt including the spiderwebs!
• Use dish soap and a brush/sponge to wipe down
• If you have a power washer, use that to remove any stubborn stains and marks

Preparation

• Tighten up any loose or exposed screws / if you have out of place nails, use a hammer to put them back into place or carefully remove them if you’re able.
• Fill up any holes or dents you find, a wood filler product is perfect for this step.
• For sanding, you will notice we have given you 2 options sandpaper and ultra-fine graded steel wool. We recommend using sandpaper for raw wood and the Liberon Grade 0000 (pronounced as “four aught) steel wool for restoration. Both do have very similar finishing benefits, but we’ve noticed a finer finish using steel wool.

Apply light sand to the entire furniture, making sure any old paint or finishes have been removed. Try to sand the furniture in all directions as one might leave marks.

• Use ProDec Tack cloths to clean the dust left over from the sanding, it also picks up any loose dust, lint and dirt before painting.
• Prepare the area you will be painting in, lay dust sheets down to protect the area and use gloves for painting.

Fun Tip: Keep an eye on your animals as they love to get involved, it happens a lot and gets messy! 🤣

Step 2 – Choosing a colour

Here are our favourite colour scheme choices to make your furniture stand out and look amazing.

1) A soft tone – natural garden colours

Step back and look at your setting, soft shades compliment flowers that have vibrant colours and work with all types of fences and shed colour schemes.

Neutral colour palettes in natural garden designs are beautiful in both urban and rural settings. Secondly, muted tones and natural colours contribute to the casual Mediterranean ambiance and bring vacation vibes to your world. Neutral white palettes, therefore, embrace elegant simplicity, and rustic finishes add to their charm.

Garden furniture, including wood and woven rattan pieces, is straightforward to assemble once you have picked a stylish garden design.

2) Simple black – bold and stylish

Black paint is an underused shade in the garden, but it is becoming a must for the contemporary outside space, allowing other colours around the garden to shine through while keeping a unique, stylish and modern look.

3) Pretty Pink – The Prettiest colour

Bright, bold and playful. Create personality with painting your furniture pink, it provides a warm colour tone that will impress everyone that visits you. You will create an amazing transformation that compliments all colours of flowers and wildlife.

4) Natural Green

A rich green lawn is critical in any landscaping plan. Green symbolizes forests, rolling hills, and meadows filled with wildflowers in the mind of the individual. There is no such thing as too much green in a garden. Gorgeous grasses, ferns, flowers, and large leafy trees create a luxurious outdoor ambiance when paired with this natural colour.

Our own Palatine Garden furniture paint has 30 stunning stock colours to choose from, if you’re looking to match a colour to your existing furniture then we offer a colour matching facility to RAL and BS colour codes!

Step 3 – Priming the wood

Priming exterior wood is vital as it seals the grain, aids paint adhesion, and prevents bleed-through issues. We recommend using our Palatine Paints Carboxide All Purpose Primer Undercoat.

1. Turn your furniture upside down if you are able as you’ll get to the hard-to-get places
2. Simply apply 2 coats of primer to your furniture and wait for it to dry, leaving a drying time between each coat. If you are planning to use the same brush/roller for the topcoat, remember to clean them beforehand.

Step 4 – Painting

1. Get your paint brushes, rollers, trays and paint to the ready! Open the can of paint and stir thoroughly.
2. Using the right sized brush, start painting evenly along the grain of the wood. It is best to apply several thin coats of paint rather than one thick coat to wood, and the darker the colour, the more coats you will need.
3. Make sure the furniture is right side up and paint it again, then allow it to dry completely before using it.

Conclusion

We hope that this guide has helped you plan and paint your garden furniture, we find the most important part of this type of project is not just using high quality paint products but making the right choice on the colour scheme. Palatine paints would love to see your finished garden furniture projects, feel free to email them into us or connect with us on our socials!

We know there are countless more garden furniture products on the market but we’re able to give you honest and knowledgeable advice, credited by the history of Palatine Paints being in the industry for over 75 years as well as dedication to keeping all of our manufactured products to the highest possible standards of quality.