Fence Care and Maintenance

How to Clean a Timber Fence

A fence that has gone grey, green or grubby usually needs a clean, not a sand. Owatrol Net-Trol is a wood cleaner and colour restorer: brush it on and it lifts surface and ground in dirt, clears the marks left by mildew and tannin bleed, and brings greyed, weathered wood back to its natural colour in as little as 15 minutes, without bleaching. It is harmless to the plants and shrubs along the fence line, which matters on a boundary that runs through a planted border. On tropical hardwoods it also works as a degreaser, so the oil that follows can soak in properly.

Stripping an Old Stain Before You Recoat

If the fence carries an old solid or semi-transparent stain, take it off before you change finish. Owatrol Prepdeck is a professional stripper for softwood, hardwood and thermo wood: used neat it removes old stains, finishes and grade stamps, and diluted it reduces mill glaze on new timber or works as a strong wood cleaner. Neutralise the surface with Net-Trol straight after stripping so nothing reacts with the new coat.

Looking After a New Fence

New wood is at its most vulnerable in its first year, when moisture and sun can make it warp, split or cup. Owatrol Seasonite is a colourless treatment made for exactly that stage. One generous coat stabilises the timber, controls moisture movement and slows the greying, and it suits pressure treated softwoods and hardwoods other than oak. After six to twelve months of weathering the wood is ready for its oil.

A Simple Fence Maintenance Routine

Once a fence is oiled, keeping it right is quick. Penetrating oils protect from inside the wood instead of forming a film, so they never peel and never need sanding back. A good cycle looks like this:

• Clean: wash the fence down with Net-Trol whenever it starts to grey or pick up algae.
• Strip if needed: use Prepdeck only when an old film stain has to come off.
• Oil: recoat with the same oil, touching up the sunniest and wettest faces first.

To pick the colour and the oil, see our fence oils and stains. The same routine works on our timber fence panels and on every other timber boundary in our garden fence panels range.