Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Painting an old barn?

I just had a new roof put on my old barn, so I'd kinda like to make it look decent again. It was red once upon a time, still is a little I guess but it's pretty weathered. I'm wondering if its possible to paint or stain it at this point and have it stick? I'd hate to paint it and then have it peel in short order, looking even worse than it does now. How would you go about prepping to help it stick, and which products would you recommend?

I would think after scraping it or power washing it, then a good oil based primer it should be fine.

Negative on the paint...

Pressure wash to get the dirt off the surface and spray with a quality tinted stain. It will soak in and not produce a peelable surface. If two coats do not give you the look you want a coat of quality oil-based paint over the oil stain will stick and give you any look you want. Any areas that were not cleaned will initially will telegraph and may need fixing by powerwashing again and repainting over a coat of oil-based stain.

Heat getting at water under the paint can and will allow it to bubble. Stain is not as waterproof and the water will evaporate through it rather than bubbling. After aging for a while the siding will have dried quite a bit and not have the water to bubble the finish and paint will be good then.

Forgot to put in the part about letting the oil stain age a bit before painting if you want to go that way.

Perfect, many thanks. Was considering pressure washing but wasn't sure if that was a bad idea or not. If the rain ever stops here I'll get after it

If you stain.......check the stain.
Some can be painted over.
Some not at all.

Absolutely true, you should also avoid cheap paint and stain...

Don't know if mold or fungus is a thing in Canada but it is down here. When I paint, I mix up a 50-50 bleach/water solution in a garden sprayer, spray and let it sit for about 10 minutes before blasting with pressure washer. Bleach is hell on all kinds of organic compounds. Otherwise if its just dirt and loose paint you are dealing with the PW will get it.

I recommend you use a quality latex/acrylic stain, paint, primer, whatever. Modern acrylics are just as good maybe superior to oil imo and clean up with soap and water....and they stick to anything. The only thing I would use oil for these days is if I have an interior project where I am trying to cover up stink.....like the roach infested hoarder occupied rental I rehabbed last year.....or smoke damage. Oil based primer (Kilz) takes care of that and I topcoat it with acrylic.

I have had mighty good look with upper level Behr products(premium plus ultra) from Home Depot. Their solid color stains are excellent and they make a really good all purpose primer. As Sitka says just don't cheap out whichever brand you choose to use....anyone's top of the line products are probably going to be excellent. A big project like your barn or a house etc, its just not worth trying to save a few bucks on paint when you consider all the work you have to do. I would probably go with the stain as well......two coats. I've got some stuff with Behr stain on it that is 10 years old that still looks new.

I thought this thread was going to be about women and makeup, lol.

All women are born knowing that men are suckers for a good paint job......its in their DNA.

Power wash first, then paint

Were you paying attention? No paint...

You are getting some responses from well meaning guys from south of the Mason Dixon and they don't deal with winters that give us 40, 50, below zero temps. The very best of the latex/acrylic stain and paint will begin to lift and peal after about 5 years in the north. If you scrape and paint every 4 or 5 years it may be OK. Oil stain tends to last. I tend to think Sitka deer has the solution.

I think you are on to something!

Honestly, I wondered if maybe I was a little too old-school and maybe they had made significant advances in the last few years that slipped past me. So I have been doing a little research and sent a couple emails. A couple serious folks in research told me there are some hurdles not likely to be crossed anytime soon. Oil is still the best for northern climates or anything close.

Forgot the smiley face...

If you siding is vertical pay close attention sealing the bottom of the wood. Use the stain and or paint on the butt ends. Caulk the seam if the wood meet masonry. Water doesn’t always run off. It “wicks” into open pores and will soak in behind your finish causing it to fail and peel.

I learned this the hard way. Painted my barn twice only to have it peel within a few years. Sealed up the bottom butt ends on the third try. Still solid after 5 years. BTW, I highly recommend Sherwin Williams Duration paint.

I seal end grain with Anchor Seal.

Anchor Seal is mostly PVA and great for its designed purpose but has compatibility issues with most finishes.

How old is old? Does it look like these two?




This 107 year old barn was in that condition and in 2001 I hired a couple of high school kids to hand scrap and paint it with Ace Hardware Barn and Fence flat latex self priming paint. Did not pressure wash. It is held up good.


Did the same thing to the 116 year old barn on the right, believe in 2006.