Thread: cheap or expensive fence spray paint?

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I just got the last of my fence sections finished, I'm very happy with how they turned out.
10 sections, 8 feet long, 4 feet tall, pvc spaced 5 1/2 inches apart.
Do you all use good quality spray paint or cheapy stuff??
I bought three cans of good valspar brand paint made for plastic, at about $3.50 per can, but just one section took almost all three cans!!!!. They also had some really cheapy stuff for $.97 per can so I thougt maybe I'd buy a few cans of that and do another section and then compare the two sections.
I really don't want to spend $100.00 just for paint.
Thanks for your wise input.
Tina

In the past I have used the cheap spray paint, then I just went to regular wet latex paint.
I find it easy to touch up and paint. No over spray or wind worries. JMO.

I use the cheap flat black from Walmart. My fence sections are stored outside all year and still look good after 3 years.
Here's a tip to conserve paint.
Before assembly, lay out the PVC parts on cardboard right next to each other. Give them a coat of paint and let dry before rotating to paint the other side. Do the same with the 1x2 rails, then assemble your fence sections. You'll get a lot better coverage with your paint and put less of it into the wind.

That's a really good idea spookineer.

In hindsight, hee hee hee, it is a great idea to paint first then assemble, but alas it is too late. All ten sections are assembled. I can't get over how nice they came out, well at least the one that's painted.
I also found out that I will have to remove the bottom screw on the piece of pvc that will slide over the rebar because it won't slide over the rebar with the screw in it, but I don't imagine one missing screw will make a differenc.

When I painted mine I stacked them offsetting them just a little and then hung them up off a tree and used a spray gun to paint them all at once from all the different angles with a gallon of latex house paint. Once unhung and unstcked, I touched up the places I missed!

I went with Krylon Fusion, made specifically for plastic. It adheres very well, and each year I just touch up any nicks it may have received during storage. It was about $4.00 a can but I only had 7 sections to paint.

I use a spray gun and flat black latex paint thinned so it will work in the spray gun. A wagner "airless" gun will work just fine. Give the assembled panel a quick coat and let it dry for a bit the give it another coat. If you have to by the spray gun it will cost about the same as buying spray can but you can use the gun to paint other things too, tomb stones, columns, etc.

I got about 8 sections of fence to paint, and each section takes about 3 cans. I go to the dollar store and buy just flat black and gloss black paint, whatever they have and mix it. The gloss and the flat paint makes it look like aged iron.

Thats a lot of fence for $3 - $4 a can spray paint.

That's a good tip on making it look aged.