Painting a fence net – how and when to make it?

Metal mesh is a cheap and proven fencing material, but without proper maintenance, it corrodes quickly. Impregnation does not pay off when the fence is temporary, but if it is permanently installed, it is worth painting, so that the fence will be rust-proof and adapted to the colors of the environment, that is, facades and adjacent fences. When and how to paint the fence net? There are several answers to this question.

It is best to paint the fence net as soon as it is installed, when it is still clean and there is no dust, dust or rust on it. The ideal seasons for such a treatment are spring and autumn, and especially windless days when the air temperature fluctuates between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius. Frost and heat are not conducive to painting, so the effects may prove unsatisfactory, and freezing or too steaming paint will begin to chipping away.

How to paint the grid?

Painting a used mesh is different from coating with new paint – the difference is mainly that the old metal must first be rusted with a specialized means, washed, and only in the next steps can be applied protective measures, such as paints and primers. Carelessly cleaned metal will continue to corrode, despite the use of suitable preparations.

Before painting, the grid should be thoroughly dried and the wall (if any), protected with cardboard or foil, so that it does not get dirty. The cheapest wire does not have anti-corrosion layers, so it should be washed and dried first, protected with a primer against rust, and only in the final stage to paint. Ready-made paints with an admixture of primer are already available on the market, which is enough to cover the mesh once to obtain corrosion protection and expressive color.

Paints for painting fencing mesh

How to paint a fence net? The most commonly used are chlorocauchuk and polyvinyl-acrylic paints, which are characterized by high resistance to temperature and humidity fluctuations, impermeability and excellent adhesion to metal. Such specialized paints for painting fencing mesh form on it a protective, matte layer, the color of which can be selected according to your needs.

Abizol, a black bituminous mass that protects various surfaces – including metal , from excessive moisture – is also a popular Polish anti-corrosion product. Abizol R and Abizol P are used to paint the fence mesh, which effectively protect the mesh from corrosion for up to several years. Abizol's replacement, less commonly used but equally effective, is Isoplast B, a mass made from asphalt and solvents, but requiring a pre-layer of Isoplast R.

Roller or brush – what to paint a fence grid

When painting the grid, every moment counts, and the round wire is not easy to cover uniformly on each side. The most popular and popular tool for painting a fence mesh is theroller, which, unlike a regular brush, allows for a more precise and even distribution of paint.

On the Polish market you can buy special sponge rollers, enriched with additional grooves, facilitating the ingesation of paint into hard-to-reach spaces between wires. Thanks to this solution, the mesh coating process proceeds quickly and efficiently, without the need to repeat the entire procedure. Most fencing mesh rollers are universal, that is, adapted to all types of masses or paints.

Other mesh painting tools

Whether you plan to paint the mesh with abizole or paint, you can make it with a variety of tools. The aforementioned roller is a proven and economical solution, but not the only one – in addition to it are also used: brush, spray and spray paint, which, however, are not profitable in the event that the fence is several dozen or several hundred meters long.

Why not paint a long grid with a brush or spray? Applying paint with a brush means an hour-long, even multi-day, tedious process, and in outdoor conditions there is a high risk that there will be wind and rain that will make it difficult to work. Painting the mesh with a spray is a rarity – it is a technique recommended for monolithic walls rather than openwork metal structures. The paint only partially hits the metal, and largely falls to the ground, which loses significant amounts of material.

Quick painting of the fence net

How to effectively protect the metal fence from corrosion and how to use tools such as roller or brush effectively? Many valuable hints can be found on the Internet – especially on the websites of manufacturers of fences, masses and paints for corrosion protection and painting of nets.

Practical information on how to makea quick painting of the fencemesh is available to the public on the Youtube channel,where author's instructional videos are placed by both DIY and Polish manufacturers and companies professionally engaged in the assembly or maintenance of metal fences.