Gate and Fence Painting in Phuket with Rust Treatment

What does the gate and fence painting service include?

Gate and fence painting in Phuket by Phuket Pro Painters looks after the metalwork and boundary fencing around a home, which are the parts that wear fastest on a property near the sea. The service is part of our house and villa painting work and can be booked for the steel alone or the fence alone.

The work we take on is:

• sliding and swing gates in box-section steel, wrought iron, or steel with other infill
• open steel fences, mesh fences and steel fence posts
• balcony railings, steel stair rails and window grilles
• carport roof frames, awning frames and steel columns
• masonry boundary walls and posts, which use the same paint system as exterior house walls

How is steel painted so the rust does not come straight back?

Paint on steel lasts only when the rust is dealt with completely before painting. The painters at Phuket Pro Painters work on steel in this order.

1. Check every part of the steel, especially welds, the bottom edge of gate leaves and places where water sits. Spots that have rusted through, which a metalworker must repair first, are identified.
2. Cover the ground and nearby walls against paint mist and rust debris.
3. Remove rust and flaking paint with a wire brush, abrasive paper or a power sander, back to sound steel.
4. Wash off salt, grease and sanding dust, then let the steel dry fully.
5. Apply a rust-inhibiting primer all over, soon after sanding, because bare steel in Phuket's humid air starts to form surface rust within a short time.
6. Apply top coats made for metal, normally two, working into corners and welds with a small brush.
7. Inspect the work and test the opening and closing of gates and sliding leaves with the customer.

Galvanised steel and aluminium need a primer that the manufacturer states is suitable for those surfaces. Ordinary paint for steel does not grip such smooth surfaces well.

Why does steel rust faster in Phuket than elsewhere?

Rust forms when steel meets water and air, and it forms much faster when salt is present. Phuket is an island, and the sea breeze carries salt a long way inland. Beachfront homes and hillside homes that face the wind are affected most, but inland homes still have high humidity all year and heavy rain in the monsoon, roughly May to October.

Rust on household steel usually starts in these places.

Rust running as a stain down a rendered wall or onto floor tiles is a sign the paintwork is due for repair. The guide on how long paint lasts near the sea explains what salt does to each material.

How is painting a masonry boundary wall different from painting a steel fence?

A masonry boundary wall takes rain on both faces and draws moisture up from the soil at its base, so black stains and moss appear more readily than on house walls sheltered by eaves. The steps for a boundary wall are washing, scraping flaking paint, filling small holes and hairline surface marks, priming, and two coats of exterior paint, the same as for exterior house wall painting.

If a boundary wall has wide cracks, is leaning, or has paint blistering from damp rising out of the ground, a specialist must inspect it first, because Phuket Pro Painters does not take on structural crack repair, waterproofing or leak repair.

What should a homeowner prepare before gate and fence painting?

Clearing the area before gate and fence painting lets the painters reach every side of the steel.

1. Move cars out of the carport and away from the gate on sanding and painting days.
2. Cut back climbers and branches wound through the fence, and move pots that stand against it.
3. Tell the painter the times the gate must open and close, so the order of work can be planned.
4. Switch off the automatic gate motor during the job, and point out sensors that must not be painted.
5. Tell the neighbour if the fence is shared, and agree which faces will be painted.
6. Keep pets indoors while the gate stands open and the paint is still wet.

How is gate and fence painting priced and hired?

Gate and fence painting is priced on the real amount of work and the degree of rust. Steel with deep rust takes longer to sand than steel that has only faded. The painter therefore surveys and measures on site free of charge, then issues a written quotation in which surface preparation is separate from the painting. You can hire labour only and buy the paint yourself in the quantity we work out, which is a common arrangement in Thailand, or hire labour and paint together. The work carries a workmanship warranty after handover, and the period and terms are in the quotation.

Estimated rates are on the prices for steel painting and other work page, and you can try the painting job calculator. How preparation is charged is explained on the surface preparation costs page.

When should steel be painted on its own, and when with other work?

Steelwork should not wait for the next full repaint of the house. Deal with rust spots as soon as they appear, because rust spreads faster than wall paint wears out. Hiring painters for the gate and railings alone is therefore a very common job.

Combining the steel with other work makes sense when the exterior is about to be painted anyway, because the same scaffolding reaches the upper balcony railings. Homes with steel stair rails and grilles indoors can book them together with interior house painting. For a villa with a large gate, railings around the pool and a steel-framed sala, see how the work is planned as one job on the whole pool villa painting page.

How do I book a survey for gate and fence painting?

Call 063-004-0115, or send photos of the gate and the rusty areas by WhatsApp, to arrange a free site survey. The team speaks English. Other ways to reach us are on the get in touch page.