Painting a chain-link fence is really not a difficult thing to do—although it can be a little bit messy. The chain-link fences that surround most backyards can be easily painted in a weekend. The entire process usually takes about a day and a half. You can typically prep and wire-brush the rust on day one (half-day) and actually paint the fence the next day.

Tools
To paint a chain-link fence, you will need a roller and brush as well as some old drop-cloths and throw-away cardboard. As a rule, you shouldn’t spray a chain-link fence. However, you could do so if you had a helper holding a large cardboard spray-blocker on the opposite side of the fence as you  spray.  This  will catch  the spray that
escapes  through the fence (otherwise, you will have overspray everywhere). In any event, spraying wastes a lot of paint and is not the best option for most situations.

Colors
Most chain link fences are galvanized steel and silver color when new, they are usually painted in silver (aluminum) when repainting. 

You don’t have to paint the fence silver of course, as long as your neighbor doesn't mind that his fence (that butts up to your  yard) is going to be black (or green or whatever color), while the other two (or three) sides of his fencing are silver.   You really can’t paint just your side of the fence.  You will ooze paint around the chain links to your neighbors side, so plan on doing both sides of the fence. Keep that in mind when choosing colors

Silver
Fences are made of galvanized steel, which means they are susceptible to rust. A good choice of paint for a chain-link fence is an oil-based, rust-inhibiting aluminum flake paint made for galvanized fencing. Rust-Oleum makes an aluminum flake (leaf) paint that is specifically made for chain-link fencing called Chain Link Fence Paint. If you are not familiar with aluminum flake paints, you should know that they usually cover very well. One coat will usually do. The flakes of aluminum will over-leaf (or overlap) each other, forming a barrier-like coating. The Rust-Oleum fence paint is an oil-based paint, which makes it user-friendly in terms of surface preparation (you can get away with less than absolutely perfect surface preparation, which a latex paint would require). The paint is rust-inhibiting, and the fish-oil vehicle is known for good “wetting” capability and excellent adhesion. As a rule, aluminum leaf paints have very good exterior durability. The reflective overlapping of the aluminum pigment protects the paint from UV rays and weathering.  See Rust Oleum Chain Link Fence Pdf




















Preparation
Most fences that have not been painted in the past have turned rusty with time. When attempting to paint a rusty fence, you should wire-brush the rust off as best you can. The Rust-Oleum Chain Link Fence Paint is self-priming over light to moderately rusted surfaces that have been wire-brushed. If the fence is rusting heavily, you should use Rust Oleum's Stops Rust Red Rusty Metal Primer. The trick to doing this technically correct is to use it only on the rusty areas and not the non-rusty areas, since the primer may react with the zinc in the (non-rusted) galvanized metal, causing the primer to peel over time


If the fence has already been painted, you should water-blast it to clean and remove any loose paint.  Follow that up with a wire-brushing to remove rust scale.





Don’t water blast the fence if it was painted prior to 1978, the year lead paint was banned, doing so could create a lead hazard. Pre-1978 painted fences should be done by a competent  professional to avoid lead paint safety issues.

Note: Trim the grass down before painting, and rake the clippings away from the fence. This will allow you to get as close to the bottom of the fence as possible.

Application
You will need to roll and brush (primarily roll) the fence. Use a long nap roller cover (vacuum and tape the roller nap to pull off loose fibers before starting) and a throwaway brush. The long nap roller cover will paint almost the entire fence (with some brushing around the posts and at the bottom).  A long nap cover will wrap around the chain-link wire and paint both sides of the fence at the same time (for the most part, although you may need a little touchup on the neighbor’s side).  When you paint a chain-link fence, plan on painting both sides because you will end up leaving your neighbor’s side 80% done if you don’t jump over and finish his side (and the neighbor may not like that). Let the neighbor know you will need to access the fence from their yard. Then if they don’t want you to, you can leave their side of the paint job as-is.

Use a throwaway drop cloth (fence painting is messy) to cover the grass/ground. When you paint near the grass-line, you can use a cardboard shield to keep the grass down as you paint the fence as low as possible. Rolling through a “hollow” wall like a chain link fence causes quite a bit of spatter, so roll slowly to minimize the spatter. Be extra careful not to spatter anything on the neighbor’s side on the fence—they can be unforgiving sometimes, and you don’t want to start a Hatfield and McCoy feud over a simple fence-painting project. It is a good idea to let the neighbors know that you will be painting the fence beforehand.  That way they can keep the dog in the house and keep any little kids from rubbing up against the wet paint.

Painting A Fence With Color
(for fences that have not been previously painted)

If you want to paint your fence a specific color other than silver and do not want to use the Rust-Oleum Chain Link Fence Paint, you can instead use latex paint—if you prepare the surface appropriately. A good paint for galvanized fencing is Sherwin Williams DTM (Direct to Metal) Acrylic Coating.  This paint is corrosion-resistant and comes in a multitude of colors. See DTM Acrylic Coating Pdf

Painting A New Galvanized Fence
Manufacturers generally recommend waiting six months before painting new galvanized metal or fencing.  Latex paints have good adhesion to clean galvanized metal fencing.   
  • Allow the fence to weather for six months
  • Clean the fence (ProClean Professional® PrepWash )
  • Paint with Sherwin Williams DTM Acrylic Coating (can be applied directly without primer)

Painting A Rusty Galvanized Fence
  • Wire brush to remove rust scale (both whte and red rust)
  • Clean the fence (ProClean Professional® PrepWash )
  • Paint with Sherwin Williams DTM Acrylic Coating



Other Colors
If you don’t share a fence with a neighbor (or if the fence is within your own yard only), you can go ahead and use whatever paint color you wish. Common non-silver colors are green and black. Green makes the fence disappear—which is both good (aesthetically) and bad (if you happen to run into it on a dusky evening because it blended in a little too well). Black is also used—probably because it is a neutral colorSee Below
Please read lead paint warning if your house was built before 1978, and the chain link fence may have been painted prior to 1978
How to Paint a Chain Link Fence
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