Garden Furniture or Fence Paint Flaking or Patchy? Causes and Fixes

Timber that is damp when it is painted keeps trying to dry out through the coating and pushes it off. End grain, the cut ends of legs and slats, soaks up water like a sponge, which is why flaking so often starts at the feet of a bench or the ends of slats. Furniture left standing on wet grass or soil stays damp year round.

The other big cause is weathered timber. Bare wood left in the sun for even a few weeks turns grey as UV breaks down its surface. Those grey fibres are only loosely attached; painted over, they let go and take the coating with them. Any grey, weathered surface must be sanded back to clean, sound wood before painting.

Rough-sawn fence boards absorb stain unevenly, so some boards and knots drink more and look darker. Patches of old stain, preservative or paint stop new stain soaking in and show as lighter areas. New pressure-treated timber is often still wet from treatment, so let it dry out before staining, following its supplier’s guidance. Staining in hot sun dries the stain before it can soak in evenly, leaving lap marks along the boards.

Work board by board along the full length, with the grain, keeping a wet edge, and stain in mild, dry, overcast conditions. Expect natural variation between boards: it is timber, not plastic.

Scrub off dirt, algae and moss with a stiff, non-metallic brush and an exterior cleaner, following its label, then rinse and let the timber dry thoroughly, ideally for several dry days. Scrape off all loose and flaking coatings and sand any grey, weathered wood back to bright, sound timber, working with the grain. Do not use wire brushes or steel wool on wood. Cut out any soft, rotten wood and repair it.

Pay extra attention to end grain, joints and the feet of furniture, which take in the most water, and raise furniture off soil and grass where you can. Paint or stain on a dry day, above 10 °C and out of hot sun, with no rain due until it has dried.

Our Garden Furniture Paint is a UV-resistant exterior finish with smooth flow around slats and joints, and our Fence Stain is a UV-stable timber treatment made for boards and panels. Both are made for outdoor exposure. Our exterior paints are flexible, not breathable, which makes dry, sound, well-prepared timber all the more important: neither can dry out wet wood or hold weathered fibres in place. High opacity in the paint usually gives solid colour in two coats, though three may be needed.