Many out there swear by Ronseal, as I do about the Ronseal two part filler which is without doubt the best wood filler in the UK. It’s just on this occasion they are completely outgunned.

Not all fences are made of wood, and while you can certainly use any of the products featured here today on your metal fence, my advice would be to go for a fence paint that is specifically made for that purpose. Don’t worry, I recorded the results every coat anyway as I already mentioned 🙂 so the test is essentially 400ml and 800ml per panel when broken down! My original, favourite, fence paint, Ronseal’s One Coat product is still right up there with the best of them in my opinion. The reason I like it so much is, to quote the famous advert: it does exactly what it says on the tin. Yes, it really only does require a single coat of this stuff to transform your tired looking fence into something to be proud of – sounds like an advert doesn’t it? Well you should know me better than that I am brutal when a product isn’t up to scratch! Here’s a look at that one coat finish: It’s quite versatile in the way it can be diluted and then applied to any fence or wooden shed using a paint sprayer, or used as-is with a brush for doing the finer final touches round the edges.

Leading on from my best shed paint review and tests, it was pretty much blurred lines with these two as the best fence paints are pretty much the same as sheds. However there are a couple of differences of note. Firstly I found fences absorbed a lot more paint. This is due to the rough timber finish on my panels. But it was hard to actually gauge how much fence paint was being used, how much protection being provided for said amount of paint, and how nice the finish. So I did the only thing any self respecting product expert would do. I tested the best fence paint brands off against each other, panel for panel, next to each other to give a clear answer to which paint is actually the best value, covers most, and protects the timber. Best fence paints tested While a lot of new products are claiming to last for 4-5 years, Ronseal are a bit more conservative when it comes to this stuff, and say it will keep its colour for 2 years. When you consider that that is with only a single coat, it is still very impressive. So what I did was decided to lay a coat on a panel that’s already got some stain on it. I have to say the results were impressive again:

I basically chose the very best paints and treatments available for fences available in the UK. Best fence paints tested Now obviously the One Coat from Ronseal didn’t need the second coat, but the Ronseal life plus and Cuprinol certainly did. Let’s take a look at what’s happened. It was so good on the shed I thought I’d paint the fence gate too. Nope. Total fail 😀 It reminds me – do not get this on anything that won’t clean up – it stains badly. Top tip that. Available in four different colours, and each one looking fantastic, a 5-litre can should give you enough paint for about five 6x5ft fence panels if you’re giving them a double coating, and I recommend that you do, especially if you want the paint to last for years to come. I know the advertising claims you can do 10 panels of that size, but that would be with a single coat and I do think bare timber (or timber previously a different colour) needs two, take a look at a couple of examples here from earlier today covering new timber (in the video) and an old gate:On the plus side, being a water based paint with a wax addictive, this is a plant and animal friendly paint once dried, which is good to know for a keen gardener such as myself who likes to do all he can to keep his botanical babies looking their best. There is no need to have multiple products to make your metal fence look as good as new, as this one does it all, and can act as a primer, undercoat, and topcoat, and the results are outstanding, leaving you with a wonderful shiny, gloss finish. What a vast improvement. If you appreciate wood like I do, you really will appreciate just how well this enhances the grain and really draws it out with a deeper, shinier look. And it isn’t too shiny either like varnish in my opinion. The closest comparable is teak oil. The speed at which this fence paint dries is impressive, and it is said to be showerproof after just an hour. The weather was good on the day we were testing the product, but we gave it a light sprinkling with the garden hose to see if the claims were true, and I’m very happy to report that they were.