Garden decking is a fantastic way to transform the look of your garden and patio areas. If a natural wood, or stained wood look is what you are going for then you’ll find it very easy to find examples to inspire your garden decking project.

However, more and more people are now choosing to incorporate colour into garden and patio designs and this includes garden decking itself.

Very recently we were asked to create a video for our friends at Frenchic Paints demonstrating how to transform garden decking using their range of Alfresco paints. To say we were impressed by the results is an understatement and we decided to include the process and all the tips included in that video with you here on our blog.

The first step is to make sure you have the correct tools for the job.

The tools we used to transform our decking are:

  • 65mm oval brush
  • External flexible wood filler
  • Stiff yard brush
  • Stiff hand scrubbing brush
  • Fine sanding paper
  • Small scraper
  • Concentrated sugar soap
  • Alfresco paint

Now it’s time to prepare your decking for its first layer of paint.

Whether you are planning on painting garden decking that is brand new or bringing to life some decking that has been previously stained or varnished, you’ll need to make sure that your surfaces are clean to work on.

Using a stiff yard brush, make sure all the grooves of the decking are clear of any debris or old flaked varnish & paint by brushing vigorously all over.

Mix your concentrated sugar soap with some warm water in a bowl and together with the stiff hand brush begin to really scrub the surface areas of the decking to ensure it is completely free of any dirt, grease, moss and algae.

Once you’re happy that your decking is clean, rinse off with clean water or use a jet-wash if you have one.

It’s important to make sure that your decking is completely dry before applying paint so make sure you leave your cleaned external decking for at least 48 hours after cleaning.

When you’re happy that your cleaned decking is completely dry you can use a small wire brush to make sure that no old paint or varnish is remaining within the grooves.

If your garden decking is new, you may find that some of the screws that hold the decking together have been counter-sunk or there may even be the occasional split or crack inside the grooves.

This will need to be addressed prior to painting and it’s relatively easy to fix.

Pipe a small amount of your flexible wood filler over any counter-sunk screws and smooth across with the small scraper ensuring to keep any excess within the grooves.

Repeat for any splits or cracks and smooth down with a damp cloth.

Now you’ll need to leave your flexible wood filler to dry overnight before giving a very light sanding. After this you can finally begin to apply your first layer of paint to your wooden garden decking.

If you are working with bare wood decking that has not been previously painted then it’s a good idea to dilute your first coat of paint with around 10% water.

This will make the paint a lot thinner and allow it to penetrate deep into the wooden decking to help create a solid barrier and a strong foundation for your second coat of paint.

When applying your second coat, there is no need to dilute it and you can simply paint your garden decking directly from the tin.

As you can imagine, we’ve used lots of different paint brands throughout the years and I can honestly say that the Frenchic Alfresco Paint range is far superior to others that we have tried. It goes on so easily and gives you an effortless and beautiful finish every time.

Use your large 65mm oval brush to work the paint along the direction of the decking’s channels and grooves. The large oval brush will help assist in covering large areas and you should be finished in no time.

As a point of reference, a 750-millilitre tin of paint should allow you to cover an area of wooden decking about 12.5 square meters in size.

If you are painting larger areas of wooden garden decking then you may want to consider using a paint spraying system. However, it’s important to remember that if spraying you will need to dilute your paint by as much as 15% and allow for an extra coat.

See the full video on how to paint wooden garden and patio decking below:

Other helpful links you may like are:

Frenchic Paint | Eco Friendly Chalk & Mineral Paint

Do it Yourself: Innovative equipment and accessories | WAGNER (wagner-group.com)