# Forum Home Renovation Asbestos  Painting an asbestos fence

## freeman2015

Hi all,
Whats your recommendations with regards to painting asbestos fences?
Whats the best paint and procedure for this? 
Thanks in advance.

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## davegol

like this:  :Biggrin:

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## goldie1

Give it a wash with sugar soap and a soft brush then paint with exterior acrylic

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## woodbe

My best method would be to remove it. No painting required then  :Smilie:

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## Marc

Yes, the Karate Kid method seems the best. 
Considering it is asbestos, the best way to paint it is ... removing it, but if that is not possible, I would do no washing nor brushing of any description and just paint, possibly spray paint it. Any exterior water based paint would do.

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## phild01

Spraying it may likely blow any loose fibres around.

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## NRB

This type of fence has been in use over in the west for many years quick to put up and lasts forever ,termites of course will not touch 
Not sure when it became cement sheet
Must be millions of metres of asbestos fences still standing

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## PlatypusGardens

> This type of fence has been in use over in the west for many years quick to put up and lasts forever ,termites of course will not touch 
> Not sure when it became cement sheet
> Must be millions of metres of asbestos fences still standing

  
Lasts forever.... or until the ground moves or someone backs a trailer in to it.....
Wouldn't wanna replace a sheet in the middle of a fence...
I couldn't believe that they were still doing it in all the new estates when I lived in Perth. 
Quick to put up, sure, all they do is dig a trench and throw the sheets in and put a little clip on the overlap, backfill, done.
Horrible to look at though.
Yuk. 
Give me a timber or colourbond fence any day.   :Smilie:

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## johnc

> Give it a wash with sugar soap and a soft brush then paint with exterior acrylic

  +1 
The paint will also help to hold any fibres.

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## joynz

Or perhaps just wipe  over with a soft sponge and detergent (sugar soap if really dirty/greasy) rather than using a brush. 
If not very dirty, just give a gentle hose down as this will be the least likely to release fibres. 
Do not use a pressure washer.

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## pharmaboy2

> Hi all,
> Whats your recommendations with regards to painting asbestos fences?
> Whats the best paint and procedure for this? 
> Thanks in advance.

  How do you know it's asbestos? 
hardifence is asbestos free but looks almost identical to the asbestos product . 
either way, just a light hose down, allow to dry for a couple of days and paint - taubmans 3in 1, then 2 top coats.

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## piscean

> This type of fence has been in use over in the west for many years quick to put up and lasts forever ,termites of course will not touch 
> Not sure when it became cement sheet
> Must be millions of metres of asbestos fences still standing

  yep, there is loads of asbestos fencing around Perth.  
I painted mine about 5 years ago and the paint has held up fine (I think it probably helps trap and seal the fibres together when it's painted). I didn't wash or scrub it, just brushed any loose dirt off it with an old broom, bought a cheap sprayer from bunnings and a fence paint by taubmans (also from bunnings - comes in a plastic 4L bucket). The fence paint was cheaper, but thinner than you'd want for most things, but it wasn't an issue since I was thinning it for the sprayer anyway. The asbestos sucked the paint right up so I ended up going over the fence twice with it so it didn't look patchy. Looked heaps better too.

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## joynz

> yep, there is loads of asbestos fencing around Perth.  
>  (I think it probably helps trap and seal the fibres together ....

  Yes, painting asbestos is the recommended way to seal the fibers in and make the asbestos safe.

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## freeman2015

Thanks for all your inputs. The house was built in the early 80s and from what Ive read, asbestos were still used at that time. 
Will be painting it with taubmans then. 
Cheers!

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## DuckCommander

My local paint centre gave me the following advice. Spray 30 seconds or similar to kill mould. Light hose down (pressure washer is illegal to use on asbestos). One coat of sealer (stressing the importance of this step with old asbestos), 2-3 coats top coat. It has worked well and looks a lot better.

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## pharmaboy2

> Thanks for all your inputs. The house was built in the early 80s and from what Ive read, asbestos were still used at that time. 
> Will be painting it with taubmans then. 
> Cheers!

  think you've got the wrong info there. 
asbestos was still available in the very early 80's, but it was for specific uses, not still in hardies General building product - so fire retardant products for instance. 
when you read "asbestos still used" - it means it hadn't been banned and old stock was still allowed to be sold. If you remove a sheet, I think you'll find a printed message on the overlap that says asbestos free (perversely if you can only read 'asbestos' because the rest can't be read, it's asbestos free - they didn't write, this product contains asbestos on it. 
my house was fully renovated in 1983, and every single building product in it is asbestos free apart from the compressed sheet behind the metre box  http://www.asbestoswise.com.au/infor...s-in-the-home/ 
actually, better, more specific info so you can at least know for certain   http://www.carnarvon.wa.gov.au/wp-co...Hardifence.pdf

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