If you want to find out if you can use fence paint on decking, then you’re lucky you came here first before you made a massive mistake…

Let me explain…

No, you cannot use fence paint on decking. It’s a really bad idea…

If you do use fence paint on your decking it will peel and flake off…

I know, I know, deck stains can peel and do the exact same thing…

True, they can, but there’s a few important differences that you need to know about…

The main problem with using fence paint on your deck…

We already established that whether you use deck stain or fence paint, that coating is eventually going to peel and flake off…

The thing is, when it does bubble up and need to be re-coated, fence paint is the last thing you want to be stripping off your deck…

You see, deck stain is very easy to remove…

You can use a chemical stripper that eats the stain and turns it into a gummy mush…

Then all you have to do is blast it away with your trusty pressure washer…

And voila!!

That deck stain will vanish just like magic…

If it sounds like fun, believe me, it is…

Or, if you prefer sanding, you can grab yourself a belt sander and that deck stain won’t stand a chance…

A belt sander with 40 grit sandpaper will remove that stain like an eraser does grey lead pencil…

Ok, maybe not as easy as that but it does it with no problems whatsoever…

Now, fence paint on the other hand, when it fails, and believe me, it will fail, it is like pulling teeth trying to get that thick coating of paint off your deck…

Belt sander with 40 grit sandpaper??

Forget it!!

That sandpaper will be clogged up in 30 seconds flat…

And a chemical stripper?

Well, let’s just say that the chemical you need to remove stain is very timid and mild in comparison to a dangerous paint stripper…

I wouldn’t want my kids around this stuff…

There’s so many warning labels that I’m scared just looking at the container…

And the process of removing the paint with a stripper…

It’s like scraping gum off the sidewalk…

So let me cut to the chase…

Deck stain will eventually fail and fence paint will definitely fail, the main reason you want to use stain over paint is that deck stain is so much easier to remove…

It’s that simple…

But I know some people want to fight me on this…

Some paint lovers always add…

Can’t you just add more fence paint if the deck peels?

Yeah you can repaint a deck with peeling paint but in most cases, it’s an extremely bad idea…

When fence paint bubbles and peels on a deck, it’s because moisture has worked its way under the paint…

And if you scrape off the peeling section and paint over them, 2 things will happen…

1. The paint on your deck will look horrendous. No amount of paint will hide the damage. It will look like a really bad patch up job. Don’t think you can cheat and get away with this…

2. And secondly, the problem that caused the moisture to rear its ugly head right up under your paint is still there, waiting to destroy your fresh coat…

Ok, allow me to explain something to you really quickly…

When you use fence paint to protect a deck, your deck is not protected unless you paint all 4 sides of your timber…

That is the top, bottom and both sides of each decking board…

Now, you know and I know that you can only paint the top side right?

The other 3 sides remain unpainted…

So when it rains, the water falls through your deck and soaks the underside of your deck boards…

Then the water soaks up through the deck boards and makes its way to the surface…

What’s at the surface?

That’s right, that fence paint that you butchered your decking with…

What do you think will happen next?

The moisture causes that paint to bubble and peel…

And that’s why you never use any type of fence paint on your decking…

Capish?

That’s why deck stain is so superior to fence paint…

Won’t deck stain bubble and peel just like fence paint?

Here’s the thing…

Unlike fence paint, deck stain absorbs into the surface of your timber deck…

It doesn’t sit on the surface like fence paint does…

Well, that’s not completely true…

If you apply too much deck stain to the surface of your deck, it will actually dry on the surface before it has a chance to absorb into your boards…

But if you apply the right amount of stain then your deck will be completely protected…

So when the moisture soaks in through the bottom of the deck boards and tries to make its way to the surface, the deck stain stops it in its tracks…

The stain prevents the water from ever making it to the surface of the boards…

So no bubbling up…

Sounds kinda great doesn’t it?

The thing is, there’s a very specific way to stain your deck to ensure you’re not applying too much stain…

It’s actually a technique called The Brush on, Brush off Technique…

And if you plan on staining your deck, you’re gonna want to be sure that you know this technique…

If you’re interested, click this link here and I’ll show you everything you need to know about The Brush on, Brush off Technique…

Anyway, let’s get back to this paint vs stain argument…

Well, deck stain isn’t perfect but it’s so much better than fence paint…

And that’s why I never recommend using fence paint on a deck…

If you want to get the look of a fence paint, you will be better off using a solid deck stain…

A solid deck stain will look very similar to a fence paint but will give you the protection of a deck stain…

It will look something like this…

So if you have an old deck where you want to hide the damage and marks on your deck, a solid deck stain is what you should use…

Actually, you should definitely use a solid deck stain…

Not a fence paint…

I hope that I’ve convinced you to put that fence paint back in the shed and use a deck stain instead…

Either way, that’s it from me today…

Thanks for tuning in and I’ll see you in our next adventure…

Peace, 

Jason…