A fence that has paint peeling off of it isn't very attractive. Naturally, painting an old fence can add to the overall appearance on your property. Probably the least pleasant part of refurbishing a fence is having to remove old paint prior to new paint being applied. A methodical approach can help to make the work a bit less laborious. Using some standard tools, and a good amount of elbow grease, you will be able to scrape, brush and sand away the older paint until your fence is smooth and ready for its new paint.

What You Will Need

Scrape

Wire brush

Metal file

Paint remover

Sandpaper (medium and fine grit)

Step 1. Use a wire brush on the wood, brushing very lightly against the wood's grain. These brushes generally last a long time and are fairly inexpensive. This action will help to remove any paint flakes that are already loose.

Step 2. Now brush a bit more intensively, but take care not to damage the wood.

Step 3. Again, brush along the wood's grain more lightly before you apply a little more pressure.

Step 4. Use a scraper with either an oval or triangular shaped head along the wood's grain. By doing this, you will more easily be able to reach over rounded areas and into corners. If you have elected to use a triangular head which has a pointed edge, ensure that you don't scratch or dig into your wood.

Step 5. Scrape the wood's grain, making sure to use the precautions that are listed above. You might find that after some time the scraper's head may become somewhat blunt and therefore ineffective. Use your metal file to resharpen the head of the scraper when it becomes necessary.

Step 6. Use some sandpaper (medium grit) to sand away any remaining paint, moving it away with the wood's grain. However, proceed with care so as to not cause scratches to the wood.

Step 7. Now use a finer grain sandpaper along the grain of the wood. If you find that there are still patches of paint remaining, you will need to sand the edges of these patches down until they are sufficiently smooth to either apply a paint remover or paint over. If you choose to use a paint remover, it's important that you adhere to the remover's directions in determining the length of time it must remain on before you can remove the paint with sandpaper or your scraper.