What brand of stain for fence?

[Erelyes]

Anyone here have input on what's the best bang for buck stain to buy for a fence?

Prices seem to vary wildly - (RRP for 10L pails at the orange/green hardware places)
$45 for Wattyl Fence Finish
$94 British Paints Timber Exterior
$149 Wattyle Forestwood
$169 Resene Woodsman

Planning a darker (charcoal) colour as well, anyone had experience with Resene's CoolColour and if it's actually worthwhile?

Other Qs as well,
- Would you bother sanding before staining?
- What's a good cheap DIY way to treat for moss/mould, rather than $$$ for something off the shelf?

[Flip]

I have used both the Wattyl and British paints products. Both were ebony or black and both worked fine.

I suspect it is out of spec house paint with black dye. The Wattyl product IMHO was the better paint.

Just water blast the crap out of the fence and throw on two coats.

[unstuck]

Waste oil, cheap as chips.

[awa355]

Waste oil, cheap as chips.

Not everyone has the taste to live in Gore

[unstuck]

Not everyone has the taste to live in Gore

Thats one of the best houses in gore, even got spare feed for the ewwwww.

[Reckless]

Warning!! : Not a good idea a black fence (or house), boards and rails will twist and posts will turn.

30 seconds out now but my Dad (who was a Painter) used to use a Janola Solution.
I think 50/50 but I'm not sure on this.
I remember he always said if you don't get rid of the mould spores on a house before repainting it will always come back through no matter what the paint or how many coats. I'd guess a fence is the same?

[R650R]

Warning!! : Not a good idea a black fence (or house), boards and rails will twist and posts will turn.

All timber walls, fences and gates will warp over time, its a natural function of timber absorbing moisture and drying out all the time.
Our brother in law "expert fencer" built us a wooden two piece gate, heavily braced, well designed etc. Didn't take long for it to warp and it was just a pain in the butt.
Really if you don't want something warping it needs to be made out of expensive hardwood and painted.

At least he did the right thing and decommissioned it when he backed his Hilux into it, can certainly rely on hillbilly rednecks for that.
We have an aluminium gate now

[george formby]

Waste oil, cheap as chips.

Plus one. Made a raised garden out of some raw pine slabs about 7 years ago. Lavishly coated in old engine oil. Has weathered into a nice dark silver colour. Still rock solid, even the pegs.
I've refined (heh heh) my mix now & add kerosene.

A mixture of bleach, water & a bit of anti fungal garden stuff applied to wood after water blasting works for quite a long time. And bleach is cheap. I'm pretty sure that's what 30 seconds is. Wood last 2 years or so on my decks despite them being damp 6 months of the year.

When you oil your fence it generally raises the surface, makes it rougher. Depends how much contact you will have with it re-sanding. I would give it a light sand after oiling when it's dry. If you really must.

This post, oops, must be taken in light of the fact I hate parting with cash for aesthetics.

[Wannabiker]

The Wattyl Fence finish is more like a paint than a stain. Can't comment on the others, but have used the Wattyl product at home. OK on weathered wood but would not use on something that has been previously painted or stained.

[oldrider]

Best to build a legal fence .... upon completion you can withdraw all comments but of course the stain remains!

[mansell]

I worked in the painr industry a few years ago and sort of come to the realisation that any of the "good" brands (wattyl, resene, taubmans etc.) where as good as each other. Look at the finish you want (paint or stain) and buy whichever of the named brands is on special.