I have a fairly large back yard that is enclosed by an 8' board-on-board fence. My measurements added up to 320 linear feet per side. It was last re-stained about 6-7 years ago and it looks like it could need another coat within the next year. I would like to keep on top of periodic staining to avoid ever having to replace the fence. I was thinking about buying a cheaper spray gun (< $200) from Harbor Freight and 5 gallon buckets of stain. I figured i could knocked 4-6 buckets per weekend.

Anyone tackled a similar task with any advice or lessons learned.

- Although it is quicker and easier to spray than roll/brush, you will use 20-25% more stain when spraying due to overspray. May not matter to you, but something to keep in mind.

- Don't spray on a windy day or cover anything nearby you don't want stain mist on.

- May want to consider back-rolling the stain after spraying a section to work the stain further into the wood grain.

- Buy a paint sprayer that you can drop the supply line directly into a 5-gallon bucket or you will be refilling the paint canister regularly.

- Get an extra-long spray hose or you will be moving the bucket/sprayer frequently.

- Clean sprayer thoroughly with mineral spirits after each use or it will gum up.

- Wear some eye protection and respirator. Cheap safety goggles that you don't mind throwing away. Same goes for covering as much of your body as possible with work clothes that you don't care much about.

Some of these recommendations aren't "have to haves" but will make the job easier.

Since the 80s DIY stain our redwood house but this year retired from that!
Used all the state-o-art, kept a cost spreadsheet vs years until redos.

• the very best brushes one can buy
• the very best oil based stain as per Consumer Reports
• the end IMHO

CR this year says of the 30 tested ...
Top Scores
[url=https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/wood-stains/valspar-one-coat-solid-lowe-s/m396445/][/url]82 Behr Premium Solid Color Waterproofing Stain & Sealer (Home Depot)
71 Valspar One-Coat Solid (Lowe's)

The HF graco x7 copy will work just fine and you can drop the intake in the 5 gal bucket. If you want to try a cheaper method before that investment, you can use a pump sprayer. Backrolling is recommended with either method.

If painting multiple projects on a year buy good brush.
If one and done buy cheap.

I echo all of what ags2007 said. Especially the brush after spraying part. I typically spray 3-4' in width at a time and then brush out with a largish paint brush.

I'd recommend spraying down the fence a day or two before spraying to get the dust/dirt off.

If you are respraying an existing stained fence it should go a lot faster than a non-stained fence and use significantly less stain.

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I typically spray 3-4' in width at a time and then brush out with a largish paint brush.

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Do you reapply stain during this step or just brush in what was sprayed on?

Also, does time of year (temperature) make a difference? With Thanksgiving/Christmas coming up, I may not get around to this until January/February which could bring some cold temperatures. I want to get it done by the spring season rain.

Thanks for starting this thread. I've been thinking of doing the same thing.

I brush in what was sprayed....and touch up if I missed a spot. With BoB it's very easy to miss some spots.

I just stained about 300' of new cedar fence this summer with Ready Seal in the Natural Light Oak. Came out looking great. I started off using a pump sprayer, but I found that an electric sprayer was much easier and went much faster. I found a knockoff 20v DeWalt battery powered sprayer on Amazon that worked surprisingly well. I was able to only get about 15-20 feet of fence per tank, but I wasn't in a big rush so I got it done over a couple of weekends. I also came back and gave a few extra coats since it was a new fence. I would echo what was said above. Avoid spraying on windy days, and use breathing and eye protection.