Protect and beautify your fence with a coat of paint every four to five years. If you let it go much longer than that, you'll need more preparation work, and prep is the hardest part of the job! In fact, it's a good idea to do a yearly cleaning and touch-up of peeling areas. If your wood fence is unfinished or stained, consider using stain or solid-color stain instead of paint. While stain must be reapplied more often than paint, it involves less preparation both the first time and subsequent times. Here is the basic information you need to paint or stain wood fencing and to paint chain-link fencing.

Materials List:

• Mower, rake, weeding tool, or weed killer
• Medium and fine-grit sandpaper
• Drop cloth
• Bleach
• Power washer and goggles
• Wire brush
• Garden hose and spray nozzle
• Rusty-metal primer
• Bucket and scrub brush
• Paint applicators (brush, roller, sprayer)
• Detergent
• Paint or stain
• Paint scrapers, replacement blades
• Related painting/cleanup supplies
• Metal file (to sharpen scraper blades)
• Caution ribbons or wet-paint signs
• Electric finishing or random-orbit sander

1. Prepare the Ground: Mow, rake, weed, or spray a weed killer along the base of the fence to get rid of any leaves, grass, or weeds that block access to the fence or that will contaminate your applicator. Place a drop cloth below or adjacent to the fence to catch debris and paint drips or overspray.

2. Prepare Wood Fence: As with all painting jobs, preparation is key to good-looking and long-lasting results. Clean, scrape, and sand. Use a power washer (a rental or low-cost homeowner's variety will do nicely) to clean the fence and blast off loose paint. Or you can use a hose with a power nozzle, a scrub brush, and a detergent-water solution. Finish removing loose paint using paint scrapers. Use a power sander to blend any raised paint edges into the surrounding areas. Sponge a 50-50 household bleach-water solution on any mold or mildew spots (black, gray, or green) to kill the organism, or it will grow back.

• Tip: Anytime you rent a power washer, take advantage of the minimum rental time allotted to also clean sidewalks, decks, porches, driveways, and many other exterior surfaces. Wear goggles and appropriate protective clothing.

• Caution: Old fences with built-up layers of paint may contain lead paint, which is very dangerous if not handled properly. For information on safe handling, call the U.S. EPA National Lead Information Center (800-424-LEAD), or visit their Web site to download the information you need.

• Tip: Don't attempt to paint a vinyl-coated chain-link fence. This specialized work is best done by a qualified fencing professional.

• Tip: To avoid cleaning brushes and rollers between painting sessions, wrap them in plastic bags.

• Tip: Thin paint will give better coverage on wire fencing. Thin your paint with up to one pint of solvent per gallon of paint. For slow-drying paints, keep pets on a leash and string up some caution ribbons or hang wet-paint signs to warn people.