How to paint a garden house or outdoor shed
Super sleek, idyllic Swedish or a robust country house style, classic gray or very colorful – a garden house can have many colors and styles.
With a coat of paint you determine the appearance of your garden house and at the same time offer effective protection against moisture, sunlight and other environmental influences.
Moose Färg offers you a practical, durable paint that extends the life of your garden house. Because the paint penetrates into the wood, the charming wood grain remains visible. The paint is also very easy to apply and usually requires no maintenance for 5 years.
- Protects against moisture and weather influences like a stain, colors opaque like a paint.
- Scandinavian matte colors.
- Very environmentally, human and animal friendly.
- Pleasant and easy to use.
- Very easy to maintain, without sanding.
Paint garden house? Choose Moose F wood paint:
Protecting your garden house with breathable paint
Why painting your shed or summer house is important:
- Temperature differences. Damp wood expands and shrinks again as it dries. This often causes cracks in the wood. This is particularly the case with open types of wood such as Douglas fir, pine, spruce and larch. The wood also becomes stiffer because the oils naturally present in wood disappear. This increases the risk of cracking and breaking. You cannot counter this with outside wood, but it is good to choose a paint that matches this characteristic.
- UV beams. Exposure to the sun causes wood to weather and discolour. Heavy rain and wind can also affect the wood.
- Fungi (and algae) like to settle in damp wood. Not only does this not look very nice, fungi can also affect the wood in the long term and cause wood rot. So choose a moisture-regulating paint.
Step-by-step how to paint a garden house:
The walls of gazebos, shed and garden houses are often made of spruce or pine. Sometimes the wood is impregnated and even stained or painted. Proper pre-treatment is essential for long-term paint adhesion. Below we take you through all the variations step by step.
- Removing any old paint or stain layers
If you are going to repaint garden house, check the old paint carefully. An existing paint or stain that is still in good condition has no cracks nor is it flaking. It is very important that the bottom layer does not peel later. If the old layer is still in good condition, you can sand it thoroughly with grit 80. The previous paint layer should no longer shine.
When an old coat of paint or stain is peeling, remove all loose paint completely. You can use the high-pressure sprayer for this (take the spray position so that the wood grain is not damaged). Use a coarse-grained sandpaper to remove remaining paint and sand in the direction of the wood fiber. If you want or need to do it more thoroughly, you can also burn off the paint.
Remove the dust with water after sanding. Allow the wood to dry thoroughly and then roughen it slightly again so that the protection system adheres perfectly and the underlying paint does not peel. - Leave fresh wood for a while
If your wood has just come from the hardware store, there is a good chance that the wood has not yet dried in the core. The wood will then start to ‘work’ and cracks will appear. With some types of wood, resin will also come out of the wood. Leave fresh wood outside for several weeks to months before painting. If you prefer to apply a protective layer immediately, you can paint 1 layer and wait with the second layer.
At a lumber yard, the wood is laid on so that it is already dried in the core when it is placed at your home. You can then start painting immediately. - Degrease impregnated wood and remove dirt
Degrease freshly impregnated wood, for example with Polarsken soapy water. It is also best to remove dirt from wood that has been standing longer with soapy water before painting.
- Sanding smooth planed wood
Lightly sand smooth planed wood with coarse-grain sandpaper (grit 80).
You do not need to sand wood that is somewhat rougher, for example sawn wood or wood that has been standing for years. - To paint
Painting is child’s play: dilute the paint with water (5-10%) and apply a layer with a block brush.
Tip: if you are not going to use the jar completely, pour some paint into a paint tray and close the jar tightly. This way the paint in the pot stays good for the longest time.
Wait until the first coat is dust dry and then paint the second coat. The drying time depends on the temperature and humidity (see Practical info below for more). Make sure that the daytime temperature is above 15 degrees. Make sure the paint can dry at least 3 days before a rain shower. - Cleaning brushes
You can easily clean brushes with soap and water. If necessary, clean with benzene.
Products for painting your outdoor shed:
Practical info on painting with Moose F
- Opaque in: 2 layers (for white colors 3 layers).
- Can be diluted: with water
- Temperature: Above 15 °C, no maximum temperature (do dilute extra with water if warmer than 25 °C.)
- Recoatable (at 20 °C): within 6 hours
- Fully dried (at 20 °C): within 2-3 days
- Consumption: about 5 m² covering (2 layers) per litre
- Apply with: brush (spray or roller also possible).
- Storage: frost-free, in a dry place between 5-15 °C.
- Suitable for: all types of wood – including Douglas fir, pine, spruce, larch, red cedar, accoya, hardwood. Can also be used on concrete and brick.
Inspiration for painting a garden house
With the photos on our website you can see how our paint works fantastic on various types of wood, both untreated and already treated impregnated wood. Douglas, pine, spruce and larch garden houses can all be painted with our wood paint.
Some painted garden houses are highlighted below.
When in doubt about the color, you can also order a sample first.
Want to try Moose Färg colour combinations ? Create your own Moose Färg colour combinations .
Which stain or paint for your garden house?
Moose F
You want to paint your garden house with opaque matte colours? Moose F is an opaque stain for your garden shed, which still showcases the wood grain and does not form a film on the wood. This garden shed paint ensures longer protection and requires very little maintenance.
Storuman Skydd
The transparent colourless Moose Färg Storuman Skydd, keeps the wood grain completely visible and has no colour. The garden shed gets a natural look, but requires more maintenance if applied outside on the sunny side. This transparent ‘sunscreen’ has to be refreshed regularly. Ideal for the inside of outdoor garden sheds,
Dimma
Semi-transparent paint is a kind of ‘wash’: Dimma gives the wood a tinted haze. The wood grain remains visible, because Moose Färg is not a varnish but it works itself into the wood and really brings out the structure of the wood of your garden house.
Moose RDM
Moose RDM has the same look as Moose F and is also completely matt. However, this type of paint can only be used on form-retaining substrates, which means that the wood hardly expands or contracts. It is mainly recommended for hardwooden windows and doors.
Choosing a color for your garden house
Moose Färg’s colors come from Sweden and are all completely matte. The colors may have a different appearance in different light. So don’t be fooled by the settings of your screen and view the multiple photos of the colors or request a hand-painted color chart to get a good idea of the colors you have in mind.
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Falu Röd
Swedish red
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Vasa Svart
Deep black
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Blytungsgrå
Lead grey
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Bohus Blå
Swedish blue
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Ljus Blå
Light blue
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Kiruna Grå
Perl grey
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Skiffer Grå
Slate grey
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Dalarna Grön
Swedish green
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Amål Grön
Soft green
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Skåne Gul
Swedish yellow
Frequently asked questions bout painting a shed
If you want to paint your shed or summerhouse, it is best to do this at a temperature above 15 °C. If you paint at a lower temperature, the paint will not dry properly and there is a chance that a rain shower will come over it before the paint has dried.
Humidity also plays an important role. When the humidity is very high, the paint dries less quickly.
In the months of April, May, June, August and September there are many days with a higher temperature and lower humidity.
It is no problem at all to use Moose Färg at high temperatures or in the sun. It is recommended to thin the paint well because the paint will dry much faster and the chance of visible brush marks is greater.
Temperature and humidity play a major role in drying time. If you are going to paint at a temperature above 15 °C, the paint will be dust-dry after a day and good for the second layer. The paint is really completely waterproof and hardened after a week. Until then, you don’t want rain to come over it.
By impregnating the wood, substances are added to the wood that extend the life of the wood. This mainly happens with wood species that are naturally less durable, such as Douglas, Spruce and Pine.
If you use paint from Moose Färg, you do not need to impregnate. The paint can be applied directly to the wood of your garden house, a primer coat is not also necessary. Moose Färg offers sufficient protection for your wooden garden house.
Yes, that’s possible. Leave your garden house for a while so that the wood can ‘sweat out’ the impregnation. If the wood is dirty or greasy, it is important to clean the wood beforehand. This can be done with soapy water with eco-friendly linseed oil soap Polarsken. Is the wood new and smooth? Then sand it well before painting.
Due to the vapour-open character of Moose Färg, it is not a requirement to paint on both sides. This is necessary with many lacquers because the wood can warp when you paint it on one side.
It is possible to paint the inside of the garden house if you simply like it better. This gives you extra protection on the inside and you have a more pleasant appearance.
The wood of garden houses often has a relatively open structure and is sensitive to the ingress of water. With many types of lacquer, the wood is trapped and there is a good chance that water, air and dirt will get between the wood and the paint.
If you have a wooden decking or veranda, it is important to prevent moisture penetration. Because it is horizontal wood, water remains on it. This breaks down the cellulose cells and can cause rot. The wood also ages. Moisture penetration causes extra shrinkage and expansion so that cracks can occur.
This is easily counteracted with Pansar water-repellent preservation. This two-step treatment is based on nanotechnology, consisting of a silicone layer and an oil layer. This prevents water ingress. It helps against ultraviolet radiation, fungi, rot, algae, spores, against weathering, cracking and deformation due to water absorption.
Would you like additional, personal advice?
We are happy to help. Send an e-mail or call +31(0) 6 55 333 165. Watch our Instruction Video for more information. Apply here for a free color-card.
