ABN is a painting company located in Phoenix Arizona. We paint both exterior and interior of homes. We do all small repairs necessary prior to painting. Stucco and drywall repairs, fascia wood replacement and any other small repairs that are required. We provide free painting estimates to the residents of Anthem. To schedule free, no obligation estimate please give us a call at 602-214-3040


A question from a homeowner:
What can you do with an ugly looking side gate and is it better to to use stain or paint on the wood part of side/RV gates?

A lot of homeowners like the natural look of the wood and prefer it to be stained with semi-transparent stain, that would bring up the color in wood and at the same time provide protection against the sun. One of the stains that can be used on exterior is called Cabot, and it is sold in Home Depot or Lowe's. It can be used to give the wood the desired color. For protection against the sun it is best to apply a clear coat (2 coats) of protective varnish. One of the best exterior varnishes is called Man O' War and it can be found at Ace Hardware store.
The downside of staining the exterior wood is the necessity of regular maintenance. If the stained wood gets direct sunlight, varnish (that was used as a top coat) may need to be re-applied once a year. If the varnish is not re-applied regularly, it will start pealing and will need to be stripped down completely, and wood sanded down, before applying varnish again and that would turn it into a labor intense staining project.
For someone who wants the wood to be maintenance free, it is best to use regular water base paint, which will need to be re-applied every 10 years or so, during the re-painting the exterior of the whole house.
If the wood is old and has cracks, it needs to be replaced prior to staining as the semi-transparent stain would not cover white color of the patching material, that is used to fix the cracks. Even if the wood is being painted and the cracks after repair can be well covered with paint, it is still less expensive sometimes to replace the wood, as it runs about $1.5 a piece, and it would cost about $15 for the wood in the average size gate to be replaced.
For painting the metal part of the gate the oil base paints needs to be used ,as water base paints do not hold well on the metal surfaces. If the specific color is not a requirement it is best to use RustOleum paint sold in the spray cans. There is a choice of few colors available at the Home Depot store. If there is a need for a specific color the Syn-Lustro, rust preventative oil base paint is available for tinting to any color at Dunn Edwards store.

For more painting tips visit our tips and articles page.