Newly painted fence gone to pot 😩

Burtsnest

Hi all, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.  Recently moved into a new property.  I painted the shed and fence panels with appropriate paint 2 weeks later it looks 10 years old. We have huge slugs and snails and it seems their teeth are just as big as there are trails all over the shed and panels where the new paint looks like it's been gnawed off. I have re painted again but wondered if there was anything further I could do to help prevent having to repaint. I don't want to use pellets or anything as we are lucky enough to have hedgehogs and lots of birds visit.  Thanks in advance. 

Stephanie29

Hi Burtsnest, could you post a picture of the problem? I've never heard of slugs eating paint...

Fairygirl

What paint did you use, and what was the timber/paintwork like to start with?
Some work better than others, and it also depends on the condition of the material you're applying it to. 

Slugs/snails aren't the problem. If they were, I'd have no paint left anywhere 

Burtsnest

Hi @Stephanie29 thanks for replying.  I have repainted most of it today but will get a pic of the side of the shed tomorrow for you. The paint has literally come off where the slugs/snails have been. Where they usually leave a trail of slime the fence paint has gone. It's odd.

Burtsnest

Hi @Fairygirl, thanks for your reply. I used Cuprinol Ducksback in black. The fence and shed are around 3 years old so looked like they just needed a freshen up/ new coat.  You could literally see the curly lines of missing colour where they had been. I bet I have bloody super slugs 🙈 There are always big snails on the fence so presumed it was them. 

Fairygirl

I use Ronseal Black Tudor Oak paint. I didn't find the ducksback one any good. Like you, I probably thought it would be the best option for my climate, but it didn't cover well at all. 
I give all my timber a quick touch up every spring though, as it gets weather beaten over winter, and worn by plants moving against it. It doesn't take long as it's mainly the most visible bits that get done, and it sets it up for the rest of the year. 
I have trellis on a lot of my fences, and the snails hide in behind that during the day, but they don't do any damage to the timber. I dispatch loads of them every day. You can see snail trails regularly, but it's just slime, not the paint being removed.
I've just been renovating one short section - I lost count at 14 of the big snails we get 

Burtsnest

After reading your comments I'm sat here thinking you are right.  Where I've been thinking it's the Slugs/snails as there are a huge amount and the size of some of the slugs have had me gobsmacked I think it's the paint. It got really good reviews when I looked into which to use but it seems after a couple of weeks its wearing badly. I'll pick some of the Ronseal up you have reccomend and see how I go. Thanks very much for taking the time to reply as I thought I was going to be painting fences for the next few years so the hedgehogs could have a tasty meal 😂 much appreciated 👍

katebrunt1

Hi, I need some advice please!
i moved into a Cottage with a tiny garden, no plants in it yet- it has a white painted wall, an the back of the house is white, so decided to continue the white on the fence, and painted the shed a soft pale green.
i used Cuprinol, and followed instructions, but now where the weather has got to it, there is lots of gingery  brown staining. Even on my brand new little arbour/ seat that I also painted the pale green! I don't know what's gone wrong, and I'm happy for it to slowly weather a bit, as plants grow, but it's only been a few months! ☹️

AnniD

@katebrunt1, how many coats did you paint on ? I'm guessing it was Cuprinol Garden Shades as opposed to Ducksback ?

Dave Humby

It might well be resin residue in the timber bleeding through, especially the new arbor. 

Burtsnest

Hi all, obviously it's been a while since I originally posted this thread. Now, most of my fence looks like it was never painted and the shed too. Wondering if the wood underneath was just no good although all the panels are in good shape. I presumed the wood would be porous so would soak up the paint/stain.  I'm going to give it another coat in spring see how it goes.